LGBTQ+ Addiction Treatment: What It Is (& Isn’t)

LGBTQ+ rehab is a drug rehab specializing in treatment for sexual and gender minorities. Facilities that treat these marginalized groups must have the resources and training to address the many compounding factors that drive LGBTQ+ individuals to addiction. 

An LGBTQ+-friendly treatment facility provides a safe recovery environment. This facility is equipped with a trained and well-vetted staff familiar with the unique struggles of this important community.

Why LGBTQ+Recovery for Addiction is Necessary

Queer folks are no different from anyone else. They deserve the same rights and social treatment as everyone else seeking recovery. While those statements remain true, the data is showing otherwise. 

The persistent discrimination the LGBTQ+ community faces tells us they can’t enter the same addiction programs as everyone else and need special treatment to achieve the same recovery results. 

First and foremost, they need recovery programs with the capacity to take them on. LGBTQ+ persons are four times more likely to suffer from substance use disorder (SUD) than their cisgender and heterosexual counterparts. 

The problems they face also tend to be worse. LGBTQ+ people suffering from addiction experience “greater clinical severity across all variables.” Any detox ready to accept them must face the intensity of their struggles and the many causes and intensifiers they experience. 

Unique Life Struggles 

Why do LGBTQ+ people come to suffer from more severe addictions? Their lives, often through no fault of their own, expose them to multiple addiction triggers.  

Anyone can struggle in life. Most people do, at some point. However, LGBTQ+ people are at higher risk of experiencing these factors as compared to the general population. Each struggle can lead to harmful habits. The combination of various hardships can increase the odds of addiction significantly. 

Social Exclusion 

Nonconforming youth may struggle to make friends and experience peer rejection. Peer rejection and loneliness lead to unhealthy coping mechanisms. Some people may even turn to drugs as a social enabler or use them in a misguided attempt to fit in. 

This issue isn’t exclusive to young people. Adults of all ages can struggle to find friends or partners who accept them and their lifestyles. People living in less-accepting areas may feel the need to conceal their identity for their safety. This approach limits opportunities to meet and form new relationships.

Discrimination 

Similarly, harassment in the workplace and around the home can drive LGBTQ+ people to reach for drugs or alcohol to cope. Other stressful life situations caused by bigotry include outright job loss (while federal law bans demographic discrimination, at-will employment allows employers to terminate employees for any excuse) and losses in custody battles. 

Physical Abuse 

Like many young people, LGBTQ+ youth suffer later in life if they were abused as children. However, sexual minorities experience such abuse at much higher rates. “Childhood abuse is a strong indicator of substance abuse and addiction later in life.” LGBTQ+ people are roughly 30% more likely to be abused, thus increasing addiction rates. 

Violence 

LGBTQ+ persons are more likely to be the target of violence and less likely to receive justice. LGBTQ+ victims report violent crimes against them half as often as conforming people for many reasons. This hesitance prevents them from receiving closure. 

Trauma, a typical response to violence, is linked to substance abuse disorder.

Co-Occurring Factors 

Other factors, such as age, race, sex, and socioeconomic status, can drive people to abuse alcohol or use drugs. These factors co-exist with our sexuality or gender and form a core part of our identity. 

When multiple factors of someone’s identity are considered high risk, the odds of addiction rise. 

Fear of the Above 

Justified or not, stress can damage mental health like real trauma. Behavioral changes based on fear and anxiety can further intensify paranoia and depression. Unhealthy coping mechanisms develop as a result, and people hesitant to reach out for help develop similar addictions. 

What LGBTQ+ Drug Addiction Treatment Can Do for Patients

As seen above, LGBTQ+ people face many factors that drive addiction. A specialized detox or rehab has the resources and training to treat people with long histories of abuse, exclusion, discrimination, violence, trauma, and fear-based coping. 

Not every rehab facility can take on those cases or offer these benefits. This list may serve as a guide to give a queer person a way to evaluate their options and seek a recovery that aligns with their needs. 

Real Inclusivity 

Treatment environments must give patients a place to feel safe and welcomed. Discrimination and hostility, even if unintentional, are unacceptable and disrupt the treatment process. That applies to both staff and fellow patients. 

The staff must have no biases and undergo regular training and evaluations to ensure the environment remains safe. They may also have de-escalation training to prevent conflicts and discrimination by fellow patients.

Gender Accommodations

For inpatient and detox care, transgender individuals should be placed in the same housing as the gender they identify with. Such care should also ensure the comfort of the cisgender patients around them; everyone should feel safe and welcome. This careful balancing act requires a strong understanding of patient needs and diplomacy that few facilities possess.

Sympathy for History 

An LGBTQ-friendly facility has more multi-disciplinary staff, thus better handling the many co-occurring issues that come up in treatment. For example, a therapist with experience in multiple areas like trauma, childhood abuse, and drug recovery, as opposed to one area. 

The specialized treatment staff knows their patients may need more time to share every issue. They can treat the symptoms and work on the causes the patient feels ready to address and are willing to let some issues wait until the patient feels ready to address them.

What It Isn’t 

Any facility can accept LGBTQ+ people into their treatment program. Anyone can advertise that they take special measures for LGBTQ+ patients. However, the provider making these claims should be able to back that information up by offering readily available details about their services and the environment they manage.

Location isn’t everything, either. A center can have a location close to or in queer communities but will not necessarily provide equitable treatment. Remember that equality is the same treatment, and equity is the same outcome. Not everyone will respond to the same program similarly; LGBTQ+ treatment understands that and adapts in its search for equity in patient outcomes. 

SoberMind Recovery: Proudly Treating the Proud 

Our San Fernando recovery center provides LGBTQ-friendly treatments tailored to individual needs. Call our toll-free number to begin a screening or learn more about the services we offer to members of marginalized communities.