Welcome to Drug and Alcohol Treatment
| ||
Drug Rehab Brooklyn Article
This is a selection made from among articles on Drug Rehab Brooklyn. For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for future reading, click here.
from:
Dual Diagnosis Treatment Services are Ineffective for the GLBT Population in a Drug Rehab
By Jonathan Huttner
Most drug rehab services, including alcohol treatment programs, are geared towards serving a white, heterosexual, male, client. Unless great effort has been put into awareness training, developing knowledge about the experiences and circumstances of minority groups, and the establishment of programs to deal with the special needs of different groups of oppressed people, services will simply perpetuate institutional discrimination.
Gay Alcohol Treatment Programs Not Adequate
U.S. researchers Lohrenz et al (1978) found that 37% of homosexuals experienced discrimination from alcohol treatment program staff while Fifield, De Crescenzo & Latham (1975) discovered that 75% of homosexuals who are recovering from alcoholism believe that mainstream drug rehab and alcohol rehab program are not geared to treating homosexuals and do not provide an accepting and supportive environment. Because of discrimination homosexuals are less likely to attend an alcohol treatment program and drug addiction treatment program unless, that is, they are 'passing.' In this case, if the clinician does not bring up the subject, one of the major causes of their problems will be ignored. Rofes (1989) says: By ignoring the special problems that a lesbian alcoholic, for example, presents, an alcohol treatment program will be doing a service to no one. Their alcoholism treatment of the individual will be less than adequate and may tend to intensify the woman's feelings of isolation and 'difference.' Only by bringing the issue into the open and addressing the woman's lesbianism as an aspect of her life which she needs to feel positively about, will the program be truly effective.
Avoiding Coming Out
Shernoff & Finnegan (1991) discuss the case of a lesbian who is hiding her sexuality, then stress: It is the responsibility of each alcoholism treatment counselor to take the lead in this area the same way alcohol treatment counselors routinely question early family history, dynamics of shame, denial and spirituality. By omitting questions about sexual orientation, or the more subtle questions about sexual or affectional feelings or fantasies for a person of the same sex, the counselor is not obtaining information about all the possible contributing factors for achieving and maintaining sobriety. While Hellman et al (1989) note: Therapists may fear causing anxiety by asking patients about sexual orientation because of discomfort with the subject. However, this questioning can be essential in helping to overcome the secrecy and denial that are hall marks of the struggle with both alcoholism and homosexuality. Of course, if a worker is ignorant about homosexuality s/he is likely to make the situation worse:
Problems Faced In Gay Alcohol Treatment Programs
American surveys, referred to by Hellman et al (1989), reveal a list of complaints about mainstream provision ranging from
heterosexual bias in alcoholism treatment and evaluation (including either focusing primarily on sexual orientation when inappropriate or ignoring important factors linked with sexuality)
ignorance about lesbian/gay issues and discomfort at approaching matters of sexuality
ignorance about the inter-relation of homosexuality and alcohol abuse
. Neisen & Sandall (1990) worked at a program designed to offer alcohol treatment to chemically dependent lesbians and gays. They list their clients' experiences of non-gay drug rehab or non gay alcohol rehab, which include:
some were forced to disclose their sexual orientation
as soon as their sexuality was known, some were discharged
some said that after disclosure the alcohol treatment they received was different due to an atmosphere of condemnation
some feared that if their sexual orientation was known about this would receive more emphasis than their chemical dependency
some addiction treatment programs were not happy having their partner attend a family program.
Citing Morales & Graves (1983) and Hellman, Stanton, Lee, Tytun and Vachon (1989), O'Hanlan (1996) notes:
the majority of detox and drug rehabilitation and alcohol rehab programs were insensitive to issues of sexual orientation and did not, generally, encourage its disclosure
homophobia limits the success of recovery and alcohol treatment for lesbian substance abusers (Hall, 1990; de Monteflores, 1986)
failure to acknowledge sexual orientation makes relapse more likely (Cabaj, 1992)
lesbians were more likely to attend alcohol treatment program services which address lesbian social issues and provide lesbian counsellors (Hall,1986, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994; Morales & Graves, 1983).
Family Treatment In Gay Alcohol Treatment Programs
Inclusion of families in addiction treatment and alcohol rehab program is now an acceptable way of supporting those coming off alcohol dependency (Nardi, 1982; Shernoff & Finnegan, 1991). This would be problematic for the homosexual client, partly because many will have been rejected by their families and those families who do not reject their offspring rarely want to discuss anything connected with homosexuality. Yet it is the ignorance and lack of acceptance of families which is one of the main reasons why homosexuals are vulnerable to alcohol abuse and drug abuse. Alcoholism treatment does work!
A gay alcohol treatment program, drug rehab or gay friendly dual diagnosis treatment program, can be found at a web site located at www.lakeviewhealth.com or you can call the dual diagnosis national helpline at 1-800-511-9225 to locate a dual diagnosis treatment program in your local area.
Jonathan Huttner is a principal with Lakeview Health Systems, which treats drug addiction and alcohol addiction in a gay friendly environment. Lakeview also operates a nationally recognized dual diagnosis treatment program.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jonathan_Huttner
http://EzineArticles.com/?Dual-Diagnosis-Treatment-Services-are-Ineffective-for-the-GLBT-Population-in-a-Drug-Rehab&id=385778
Drug Rehab Brooklyn Specific links
Drug Rehab Brooklyn News
Bayley Seton: Serving Staten Island for more than a century - SILive.com
 SILive.com | Bayley Seton: Serving Staten Island for more than a century SILive.com Until 1981, the Public Health Service Hospital operated both in-patient and out-patient services, emergency, surgery, and rehabilitation wards. Military installations at Fort Wadsworth, Fort Hamilton, in Brooklyn, the Miller Field Air Station, ... |
Rehab center security bill passes state Senate - Times Herald-Record
Rehab center security bill passes state Senate Times Herald-Record By Michael Novinson WAWARSING — A bill designed to prevent a repeat of Richard Giga's 2010 rehab center rampage has once again passed the state Senate, but appears doomed in the Assembly. The bill aims to boost security at alcohol and drug rehab ... |
They left their mark - Jerusalem Post
They left their mark Jerusalem Post Adam Yauch, who died on May 4 at 47 of cancer, succeeded in doing something few thought possible: Turning a bunch of Jewish boys from Brooklyn, New York, into a cool hip-hop group. Yauch, who founded the Beastie Boys in 1979, became known by his ... |
Prosecutors wrapping up case in NY tot's death - Wall Street Journal
Prosecutors wrapping up case in NY tot's death Wall Street Journal But photos snapped of her while in a rehabilitation facility in Utica depict a smiling, round-faced child. She had been fed through a tube, but in the weeks before she went home, she was learning how to eat soft foods like yogurt, according to ... |
Earning a Diploma -- and a New Life - Patch.com
Earning a Diploma -- and a New Life Patch.com Those offenders are given the choice of entering the drug court system, under which the offender is placed on probation for up to five years. During that time, the clients have to seek treatment -- either at an outpatient or residential facility, ... |
My mother fed me liquor and drugs to get me to sleep: Mike Tyson - Daily News & Analysis
 Daily News & Analysis | My mother fed me liquor and drugs to get me to sleep: Mike Tyson Daily News & Analysis "And when you've been in rehab, you're very comfortable talking about yourself." Stints in clinics over the years have helped, but Tyson is wary of being overconfident. "I'ma major league relapse artist. I'll do two years and then think, '---- it'. The madness of Mike |
This Furniture Has History Ingrained in It - New York Times
 New York Times | This Furniture Has History Ingrained in It New York Times This includes men and women coming out of jail or drug rehabilitation programs. The pieces in the 12 x 12 exhibition will be auctioned to support the project. “You have guys from prison working in high-end architectural woodworking,” Mr. Solomon said. |
Poliquin shaped by tragedy and waste - Kennebec Journal
 Kennebec Journal | Poliquin shaped by tragedy and waste Kennebec Journal The New York Times ran a joint obituary for Carpenter and his daughter, an art conservator for museums in Brooklyn, at Harvard and in Los Angeles. Poliquin attaches no professional or political meaning to his wife's death. |
The Ethics Of Coerced Treatment For Drug Use - Men's News Daily
The Ethics Of Coerced Treatment For Drug Use Men's News Daily By Amy Alkon All drug use is not abuse. Yet, people caught using drugs are often given no choice but to go into "treatment." This is like catching me drinking a glass of wine and forcing me to go to rehab for it. I do drink wine, but not to excess, ... |
Theatrical Releases for May 25th: 'Men In Black 3' Hits Theaters - FanBolt.Com
 FanBolt.Com | Theatrical Releases for May 25th: 'Men In Black 3' Hits Theaters FanBolt.Com Oslo, August 31st (NR), Drama - Thirty-four-year-old Anders is a fortunate, but deeply troubled man battling drug addiction. As part of his rehabilitation program, he is allowed to go into the city for a job interview, but instead uses the opportunity ... |