Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, and Transgenders in Treatment: “You’ve Come A Long Way Or Have We?”

December 28th, 2007 | Add a Comment

Last year, the organization I chair, NALGAP (The Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Addiction Professionals and Their Allies www.nalgap.org) awarded San Francisco psychiatrist Bob Cabaj with our Founder’s Award for over 25 years of work in the field of addiction, advocating for LGBT clients. Bob stood in front of 600 addiction professionals at the NAADAC Conference stating that when NALGAP began 27 years prior they were provocateurs, making the addiction field uncomfortable and stirring it out of it’s complacency. He then challenged the members of the audience to examine their attitudes and their silence in several important areas: the spread of HIV/AIDS and other STD’s in minority communities; the increase of unsafe sexual behaviors among young gay and bisexual people associated with use of alcohol and drugs; the risks of rigid definitions and compartmentalization; and the encroachment of politics and moralization into scientific research and medical practice.

It’s been ten years since I wrote the article, Sharing the Secret: The Need for Gay-Specific Treatment, for The Counselor. (You can download the article at www.joeamico.com). Even though many of us from NALGAP and other organizations have been doing trainings all over the country on LGBT issues, we continue to hear stories of clients who say they could not “come out” in their treatment programs because it did not feel safe or counselors continue to say “you’re not here to talk about being gay, you’re here to deal with your addiction.”

Recently I gave a talk at a women’s conference on treatment assessment and retention. Afterwards, a bisexual who came out in 1987, approached me and said “I had forgotten how hard it was to come out in 1987 and after hearing you speak, I realize not much has changed in twenty years.” Sad, but true. There have been some great strides: government documents like CSAT/SAMHSA’s A Provider’s Introduction to Substance Abuse Treatment for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Individuals (2001) DHHS Pub. No. (SMA) 01-3498, NCADI Pub. No. BKD392 FREE: order online at http://www.health.org/govpubs/MS489 and an accompanying training curriculum just released this fall (2007) have provided information for program administrators and counselors.

However, when LGBT clients come to Alternatives, the only gay owned and gay operated treatment specifically for GLBT clients, I continue to hear “Finally, a place where I can be myself and deal with issues honestly and without fear of being reprimanded by staff or mocked by other clients.” There is still a need for gay specific treatment along with our continuing efforts to make all treatment facilities GLBT sensitive.

Joseph M. Amico, M.Div., CAS, LISAC