LGBT Drug Treatment Blog

A Gay Drug Rehab: Is It Too Much Too Ask

Is a gay drug rehab really the most effective type of drug rehab for the GLBT population. While a completely gay drug rehab can be beneficial for some, it is my belief that the majority of gay/lesbian addicts or alcoholics would derive greater benefit from a drug rehab with a gay component operating within. The reason for this is that it resembles the real world and will allow the gay patient to come face to face with issues they might not face in an all gay drug rehab……….THese issues may be: homophobia, prejudice, discrimination…….WHile none of these are pleasant to deal with, it is better they are dealt with prior to discharge. The gay drug rehab component will allow the pgay patient to deal with these issues in a safe environment and then practice putting wehat hey have learned to good use.

If you are looking for a quality gay drug rehab you might want to call recovery Connection for referral 800-511-9225

Gay Drug Rehab

Research & our experience in treating the GLBT population, have shown us the impact heterosexism, homophobia, prejudice and discrimination has had on them. Shame has been identified as a major component in the progression of the disease of addiction and alcoholism. Shame seems to be especially dominant in this population as many are born into heterosexual families, with the expectation they grow up to be heterosexual. Feelings of “not fitting in” or being blamed for something over which they have no control are all gateways for increased shame.

Specialized Gay Addiction Treatment Program Benefits:
Comprehensive assessments by clinicians sensitive to the impact of heterosexism and homophobia.
Medical detox, rehab, residential, partial hospital and intensive outpatient services are all available.
Effective therapies and psychoeducation in an affirming, safe environment.
Expressive therapy, art therapy, recreational therapy.
Treatment focus on acceptance, integration, risk taking behaviors and coming out.
4 day family recovery program to promote healing within the family system.
Assistance in establishing new social and emotional networks capable of supporting your recovery.
Aftercare planning and referral to licensed therapist’s with expertise in treating the GLBTQ population.
Recovery and Integration in a Safe Environment

Please keep in mind, that while there are a variety of clinical services focused on specific issues that directly affect the GLBTQ community, everyone will be expected to participate in the remainder of the program, which may include all patients at Lakeview. We believe that while it is necessary to provide you with a “safe space” to do specific personal work, you will be entering the “real world” again. We would rather you encounter those challenges while in treatment, where we can assist and support you in the decision making process as to how to effectively deal with the feelings associated with those challenges. Whether it be a desire to act out in a self destructive manner, drink or drug, let it happen where help is just a step away

Gay Drug Rehab Criteria

There seldom exists a problem that has no solution. This is true for drug addiction too. There are specific addiction treatment centers called drug rehab whose main goal is to help drug addicts and alcoholics discover recovery.

Although there are quite a few gay addiction treatment programs, finding an effective gay drug rehab is a formidable task. While many drug rehabs market themselves as gay drug rehabs, the fact is they are not.

When looing for a gay drug rehab center, don’t be afraid to ask questions. Find out about the staff and their credentials, ask for a program schedule, how does the person answering the phone handle the call and don’t be afraid to ask for names of other professionals who have referred there.

It is important that a gay drug rehab be structured in a manner to minimize homophobia, prejudice and shame, all key elements of gay / lesbian recovery. If you are looking for a gay drug rehab, you can call recovery Connection and they can direct you to one.

For too many years gay and lesbian addict and alcoholics have had try their best to fit into a “straight” alcohol rehab. While many might say this is not a big deal, an addict is an addict, I wonder how a hetersexual might feel in a gay alcohol rehab?

While an alcohol rehab does not have to be entirely gay to provide quality and effective alcohol adiction treatment for the gay and lesbian, they do at a minimum have to have a storng focus on treating the gay population. That means specialty groups and educational classes to provide gays the opportunity to share safely regarding internalized homophobia, shame and past self destructive behavior. That is not easily done in a group or environment comprised of the same people responsible for creating judemental attitudes, homophobia, prejudice and discrimination.

To this end, if you are looking for a gay alcohol rehab or gay friendly alcohol rehab, try calling Recovery Connection and they can help you with your search.

Gay Crystal Meth Addiction Treatment

Missing in the city is addiction treatment specifically designed for gay men struggling to get off of meth, said Alyce Belford, administrator at Redgate.
Patrick Piper, a behavioral interventions trainer who leads workshops on crystal meth and its role in the gay community, agreed.

“A gay man is going to be a little reluctant to sit among a group of heterosexual counterparts and talk about using meth for three days and going onto the Internet and into bathhouses,” Piper said.

Shoptaw and Cathy Reback, directos of a addiction treatment program in Los Angeles, have studied thousands of gay men undergoing treatment for crystal meth addiction. They’ve found that gay men initially respond best to treatment that tackles cultural issues specifically suited to them.

“We use triggers that these guys can relate to: going to a circuit party, going to a bathhouse …,” Reback said. “We don’t talk about Super Bowl Sunday, we talk about Halloween.”

Jimmy Smith, a 39-year-old gay crystal meth addict, rejects the idea of gay addiction treatment, echoing sentiments shared by some addicts.

“The world isn’t gay,” he said. “Being clean isn’t about sexuality; it’s about living with yourself.”

While Kathy Watt, executive director of a gay addiction treatment program, doesn’t believe that all gay men need gay-addiction treatment, she says it can be helpful for men those who used crystal meth for sexual enhancement.

Developing a healthy sexual life without meth is one of the core elements of the addiction treatment program we have, which is targeted toward gay, lesbian and transgender addicts.

“We all have the right to be sexual and if people don’t have the tools to do that in the right way, they’re not going to succeed,” Watt said.

If you are looking for a gay addiction treatment program or gay drug rehab, call Recovery Connection for referal information.

Gay Alcohol Rehab and Sexual Abuse

While initially the gay man may turn to alcohol in an effort to ease the shame and pain, they end up repeating the behavior they once learned. While being gay is not a choice and being a gay alcoholic is not a choice getting help for sexual abuse and alcohol abuse is.

Gay Alcoholism
Society often does not understand that gay alcoholism has its own set of challenges and stressors. Many alcoholics already feel shame and alone in their addiction and being a gay alcoholic can lead to a person feeling even more isolated. Freedom Rings, a gay alcohol rehab component of Lakeview Health Systems offers gay addiction treatment and alcohol rehab to the GLBT community. One of only a few in the country, freedom Rings has worked diligently to assure the gay alcoholic feels free of homophobia, prejudice and discrimination while participating in alcohol rehab. Call Recovery Connection to get in touch with Freedom Rings……….It works.

Archdiocese suspends priest and issues apology to Foley who is in gay alcohol rehab
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

By Scott Travis

October 21, 2006

That’s something we would not even bring to his attention until after he is out of his treatment
The Archdiocese of Miami apologized to Mark Foley on Friday and launched an investigation into allegations that a priest serving at his Lake Worth parish 40 years ago sexually abused the disgraced former congressman.
The Rev. Anthony Mercieca, 69, was suspended by the archdiocese Friday, preventing him from performing priestly duties anywhere, including the Mediterranean Republic of Malta, where he now resides.

Church officials also have asked the pastors at all eight South Florida churches Mercieca served to make announcements at this Sunday’s service urging any other possible victims to come forward. Mercieca served as assistant or associate pastor in parishes from Homestead to North Palm Beach from 1965 to 2002.

Victims can also call the assistance coordinator at 866-802-2873.

Church officials said they will invite Foley to meet with them to discuss the case and help him in his recovery.

‘While it was long in coming, with God’s merciful grace this painful revelation can be the beginning of reconciliation and an instrument of redemption and healing for Mr. Foley,’ the archdiocese said in a statement.

Gerald Richman, Foley’s civil lawyer, called the church’s response ‘an appropriate way’ to deal with the situation. He didn’t know if Foley would want to meet with church officials. Foley has been in an alcohol rehabilitation center for the past month.

‘That’s something we would not even bring to his attention until after he is out of his treatment,’ he said.

Foley, 52, a Republican from Fort Pierce, resigned from Congress last month after his sexually explicit e-mails to young male pages surfaced.

His lawyers told the State Attorney’s Office this week that Mercieca had sexually abused Foley as a child. Mercieca was a young priest, and Foley was a 13-year-old altar boy at Sacred Heart in Lake Worth. Foley is not pursuing criminal charges.

Mercieca retired in 2002 but still performed Mass and some ceremonial functions in the small Maltese island of Gozo. He will not be able to serve as a priest in any capacity, at least until the investigation is complete, said Mary Ross Agosta, a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Miami.

Mercieca denies having sex with Foley but said the two skinny-dipped and sat naked in saunas and hotel rooms on overnight trips.

He said he also touched Foley at least one time. The incidents happened between 1966 and 1967.

His statements prompted the church to take immediate action, Agosta said.

‘I think the statements we heard were shocking and disheartening,’ she said. ‘Clearly, any time the archdiocese receives reports or allegations of any kind of sexual abuse with minors, we have a very clear policy on what we need to do. After hearing Father’s comments in the media, we determined the allegations were credible.’

A five-member committee made up of lay members in the church will interview those involved and present findings to Archbishop John Favalora, Agosta said. Mercieca could permanently lose all rights to serve as a priest, she said. Officials said he probably would not lose his pension.

Although Mercieca talked to many reporters on Thursday, he couldn’t be reached Friday.

‘My take is that he has probably left Gozo,’ said Herman Grech, a staff writer for the Times of Malta newspaper. ‘Loads of reporters are outside his house, but there is no sign of him whatsoever.’

Officials from the Gozo Diocese said Thursday they would conduct an investigation. It is unclear whether their efforts will be separate from the Miami Archdiocese.

Gozo Diocese officials couldn’t be reached Friday afternoon.

A.W. Richard Sipe, a psychotherapist and former monk, has criticized the way the church has handled abuse allegations in the past. Sipe said the archdiocese has handled the case properly, but had no other choice.

‘The publicity surrounding this makes it pretty urgent to act responsibly and not try to deny things,’ he said.

‘But you have to look at what has moved the church to act. Has it been some internal reform movement among bishops and priests? No, it’s been primarily the press, victims and civil suits.’

Cohen, with United Foundation for AIDS, said for some gay men crystal meth addiction is especially powerful. For those who have struggled with issues of sexual identity and feelings of insecurity, escaping through Meth is seductive, he said. Crystal Meth washes away those gnawing feelings and provides relief for people ostracized by family and friends because they are gay or HIV positive, Cohen said.

“There’s a lot of pain within the gay community,” he said. “They are so afraid of letting others know, they may turn to drugs to deal with their fear and denial. Crystal Meth becomes a very strong veneer for someone facing depression.”

A recovering addict named Mark, who would not give his last name, was introduced to crystal meth by friends and quickly went from snorting Meth to “slamming” or injecting it everyday at about $60 for a quarter gram.

“I started using it around the house because I could get things done,” he said. “I felt like for the first time in my life, my brain was turned on.”

His longest binge lasted eight sleepless days, and by the end he was painting Gatorade bottle caps. Mark finally hit bottom when he had what he calls a “psychotic episode” during an argument with his partner. By the time the police showed up, he was wielding a butcher knife.

For months Mark has been going to Crystal Meth Anonymous meetings and struggling to stay off the drug.

When his fight against Meth gets tough, he pulls out a shoebox of about 150 bottle caps he covered with high gloss enamel when he was using. He also replays a mental tape of his worst moments when Meth made him paranoid and psychotic.

“I try to play the tape through to when I’m sitting there peeking out of my windows,” he said, “or being tied to a gurney being rolled out with all my neighbors watching me.”

Gay Alcoholic Mark Foley Comes Out of the Closet

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (CNN) — Former Rep. Mark Foley was molested by a clergyman when he was between the ages of 13 and 15, his attorney said Tuesday amid allegations that the congressman exchanged inappropriate e-mails and instant messages with teen congressional pages.

Foley, a Florida Republican, resigned Friday amid questions over e-mails he allegedly wrote to a former page, asking the boy what he liked to do and requesting a photograph.

The scandal has been troublesome for House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who has been criticized over his handling of the matter. (Full story)

Foley’s attorney, David Roth, said Foley had never had sexual contact with a minor and said any assertion that Foley is a pedophile is “categorically false.”

Roth would not release details of Foley’s alleged molestation, saying only that making it public “is part of Mark’s recovery” and that Foley would discuss it further when he is released from a center where he’s being treated for alcoholism and mental issues. It will be at least 30 days before he is discharged, Roth said. (Watch the attorney explain that Foley is not a pedophile — 2:07 )

Roth added that “Mark Foley wants you to know he is a gay man.”

Though the attorney would not provide the religious affiliation of the clergyman who allegedly molested Foley, Foley lists his religion as Catholic, according to a congressional directory.

“He continues to offer no excuse whatsoever for his conduct,” said Roth, who spoke to Foley on Tuesday. “This was a life decision, not a tactical one made by others.”

Asked why Foley waited to divulge the alleged molestation, Roth replied, “Shame.”

Roth’s announcement came shortly after ABC News published correspondences it said indicated Foley had Internet sex with a former page before going to a vote on the House floor in 2003.

The network published a partial transcript of the instant messages on its Web site but did not quote the exchanges in which it said the congressman and the high school student apparently had orgasms.

Former pages gave ABC News the transcripts, which were dated 2003, the network reported.

ABC also published the e-mails that triggered the controversy last week. Roth said Tuesday that Foley was under the influence of alcohol when he wrote the messages.

The teen who received the e-mails forwarded the messages to a congressional colleague, calling the correspondences “sick, sick, sick.” (Watch a former page say she never got a “creepy feeling” from Foley — 1:36 )

Soon after, instant messages surfaced in which Foley reportedly engaged in sexually explicit exchanges with a teenage male page.

In one exchange, Foley allegedly asked the boy, “Do I make you a little horny?”

President Bush said Tuesday he was “disgusted” by the accusations surrounding Foley.

“I was dismayed and shocked to learn about Congressman Foley’s unacceptable behavior,” he said while visiting George W. Bush Elementary School in Stockton, California. “I was disgusted by the revelations and disappointed that he would violate the trust of the citizens who placed him in office.” (Read what CNN.com readers think)

Bush said that he supported the call by Hastert for a full investigation.

Top GOP leaders also have spoken out against Foley. Hastert, House Majority Leader John Boehner and House Majority Whip Roy Blount issued a joint statement over the weekend calling Foley’s alleged actions “an obscene breach of trust.”

“[Foley's] immediate resignation must now be followed by the full weight of the criminal justice system,” the congressmen said.

Boehner, whose daughter was once a congressional page, added Tuesday that if he had known earlier of the allegations against Foley, “I’d have drug him out of there by his shirtsleeves.”

Rep. John Shimkus, chairman of the House Page Board, has acknowledged knowing about an “overly friendly” exchange between Foley and a former male page. The e-mails, which occurred in 2005 between Foley and a page from Louisiana, were not sexually explicit. (Watch a timeline of how the scandal unfolded — 2:05 )

Foley assured Shimkus that nothing inappropriate had occurred, and Foley was warned not to have contact with the teen and to watch his conduct around pages, Shimkus said.

The conservative Washington Times newspaper wrote in an editorial that Hastert should step down because of his handling of the incident, saying he was either negligent or “deliberately looked the other way.”

Bush and Boehner came to Hastert’s defense. Boehner wrote a letter to The Washington Times editor, saying, “No one in the leadership, including Speaker Hastert, had any knowledge of the warped and sexually explicit instant messages that were revealed by ABC News last Friday.”

The FBI, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the House Ethics Committee are investigating Foley’s conduct — and whether there was any attempt to cover it up.