Why is there a need for specialized treatment for the LGBTQ community?

 Entering into treatment for addiction can make a person feel very vulnerable. Attending a gay-friendly or LGBTQ-friendly inpatient drug rehabilitation center in Oklahoma will give you an atmosphere of honesty and mutual respect. This will help you be open about every aspect of your identity. Having to hide your sexual orientation can impede an individual’s progress in an inpatient drug rehab center. Recovering in a setting that reinforces your self-respect, will help you be proud of who you are, reinforcing who you can become.

Most programs will say they offer an LGBTQ program but in reality, there are actually very few specific drug rehab centers that are LGBT and gay-friendly in Oklahoma. Transgender people have an especially hard time finding non-biased discrimination-free treatment for their addictions. It can be harder for an LGBTQ person to overcome addiction in a setting that is not specifically set up for handling these unique challenges. It is better to enroll in an inclusive gay-friendly drug rehab center in Oklahoma to ensure that your needs are handled properly. This will ensure a positive outcome in treatment. 


Specialized drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers for LGBTQIA+ identifying people will have more staff who are experienced in handling the complex dynamics akin to sexual expression, and sexual orientation accompanied issues. A conventional drug treatment facility in Oklahoma will be unfamiliar or at the very least, uncomfortable with handling these types of challenges. 

Most treatment providers will offer a long-term program of at least 90 days to ensure that all issues are handled before leaving the treatment facility for drug addiction. People who are suffering from the grips of addiction have a better chance for long-lasting recovery in a setting that is longer than the average 28-day program for addiction. Recovery experts have long stated that the length of the program has without a doubt, a significant effect on the recovery rate of the clients.

LGBT-inclusive drug and alcohol treatment centers will often have separate housing for gay and LGBT individuals. Residential treatment programs are taxed with another particular challenge in offering housing to a person’s self-identified gender. Conventional treatment centers may force the individual to room with and as their birth gender. Forcing a transgender client to co-habitat with their birth gender can put an individual in the same situation that may have led to drug or alcohol abuse in the first place. For transgender clients, it is very important to make sure that they are given respect and a unified understanding of their identity. This will lay the groundwork for their paths to recovery. There will be separate groups that deal with the specific concerns that only LGBTQ individuals seeking help from drugs and alcohol deal with. Individual therapists who are gay, lesbian, or transgender themselves will have specialized treatment programs that include specific topics that are synonymous with the Gay and LGBTQIA+ community which include some of the topics listed below.

All of these issues and more should be handled while in treatment. 
*Discrimination handling, public discrimination
*Coming out, Peer ridicule, exclusion from social groups
*Family counseling, job loss, loss of child custody, rejection by a spiritual community
*Acceptance of self
*Violence based on sexual orientation or gender identification and how to cope

Separate group therapy sessions with only LGBTQ peers and counselors allow people to open up in a safe and non-judgmental environment. Specialized group therapy with people who share similar life experiences and challenges will help LGBTQ individuals feel they can be fully involved in the group’s healing process. Being able to fully engage in group therapy will help the individual feel comfortable about sharing their life experiences and tragedies.

Family and spousal therapy sessions have another dynamic that LGBTQIA+ inclusive drug rehabilitation centers in Oklahoma are ready to handle. Addressing the complex relationships that accompany the LGBTQ community can be challenging for a conventional drug and alcohol treatment center to understand, let alone help handle. Traditional marriage counseling and family therapy usually do not work for the gay, lesbian, and transgender community. The program will not assume that you are heterosexual and will encourage you to identify with your chosen gender if you are transgender. The materials will have same-sex couples and gender-neutral checkboxes for marital status. You will be able to discuss your relationship issues and issues related to your own sexuality using the principles of gay affirmative practice. LGBTQ-friendly drug rehabs in Oklahoma will encourage you to fully open up about your sexual orientation (if you are ready) and relationship dynamics. Being able, to be honest, and open in a non-judgmental setting will allow you to feel comfortable and at ease while you are in treatment for addiction issues. This helps the counselors understand your unique situation, relationship dynamics, habits, and pitfalls and will also help them in handling the underlying issues that need to be taken care of while enrolled in a Gay-Friendly inpatient treatment center for LGBTQ people in Oklahoma.

Addiction rates for the LGBTQ community according to the most recent study conducted in 2016, have included sexual orientation, and sexual identity in their survey of adults. This most recent data collection has found that almost a third of the LGBTQ population (30%) is addicted to drugs or alcohol. This is among the highest number of affected people in the nation. Heterosexuals are around 10% addicted rates as of 2016.

LGBTQIA+ Inclusive Outpatient Therapy in Oklahoma

Therapy and outpatient treatment for addictions is the right solution for some people suffering from addiction to drugs or alcohol. Therapists that specialize in treating LGBT and gay clients can offer many services to LGBTQ communities. Working with an outpatient program or a private therapist is often the only option for specialized treatment options in certain areas throughout the state.

Free Drug Rehabs in Oklahoma that Accept LGBTQ Clients

Most free rehab programs that offer treatment programs for addiction in Oklahoma will service gay, lesbian, and transgender clients. The programs that they offer, will in most cases be the same program that the general population uses in their recovery. Due to funding constraints in Oklahoma, delivering a separate program is often not cost-effective for the center.

How We Can Help

Our addiction specialists are here for those seeking treatment for their addictions to drugs or alcohol in gay-friendly drug rehab. There are programs throughout the United States that offer treatment and counseling for those seeking help in their early recovery from drugs and alcohol. We can help you locate treatment for addiction in your area or anywhere in the country. It is sometimes beneficial for the client to go to treatment further away from home. Getting away from temptations and friends who may still be using is often better for many people. Clients who go to rehab in another state also have a harder time leaving treatment early as well. Depending on the situation, our counselors may suggest looking for substance abuse programs that are a plane flight away. To locate LGBTQIA+ inclusive AA meetings, group meetings, 12-step programs, inpatient treatment, or outpatient services, give us a call now. There are many options for inclusive drug rehab services in many cities in Oklahoma and throughout the country.

1-800-513-5423

LGBTQ-Specific Support Groups and Therapy Meetings in Oklahoma

Below we have listed some of the group meetings that are gay and LGBTQ friendly. We offer this list to help those who are looking for free, gay-friendly groups for their addiction and have nowhere to turn for help. Addiction No More offers these groups as a free service to the ongoing aftercare that is much needed in the LGBTQ community. This is not a complete list of LGBT and non-binary support groups in Oklahoma and is subject to change as new meetings start and old ones fade away. Please give us a call or email us to have your meeting put on the list of resources for transgender individuals looking for support and addiction help. For help finding the right LGBTQ-friendly drug rehabilitation center in Oklahoma, call us now. Addiction No More is an Addiction Treatment Center locator service. For immediate service, please call one of our counselors 24/7.

1-800-513-5423

Live and Let Live
Live and Let Live in Oklahoma City meets on
Monday at 5:30 pm open discussion meeting
Tuesdays at 5:30 pm open discussion
Wednesday at 5:30 pm this is a beginner’s open meeting
Thursday 5:30 pm This is an open Big Book Study group
Fridays at 5:30 pm for an open discussion topic-based group
Saturdays 9:00 pm open discussion group
Sundays at 9:00 am for a Sunday early discussion meeting. This is an open discussion group that is topic-based (topics included are from group interaction and concerns)
Sundays at 12:00 pm Open Discussion Group
Sundays at 7 pm steps discussion open group
3405 N Villa Ave
Oklahoma City Oklahoma 73112

Lambda Unity Group in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Lambda Unity group meets on several days of the week in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and offers closed discussion, steps, and big book groups.
Tuesday 7:0 pm closed meeting for a discussion and topic-based speakers.
Saturday at 5:30 pm closed Big Book study group
Saturday 7:00 pm closed steps group

Transgender, non-binary, gender non-conforming, and gender-queer-specific support groups in Oklahoma

Gender Support Group TULSA OKLAHOMA
This is a weekly meeting that is free of charge from 7:00-9:00 pm on Wednesdays. A first-timer interview is required before being given the ability to join this group. The interview process is for your protection as well as the safety of the other members of the group.
Please contact 918-743-4287 or e-mail alex.wade@okeq.org for further information about the location and how to join this group for transgender and intersex individuals.

Trans Peer Support group
Meetings every other Saturday at 4:00 pm
Contact Tony Stevenson at 405-802-8229
4001 N. Classen Blvd Ste 116
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73118



Sources
LGBT Specific Mental Health and Rehabs
LGBTQIA+ People and Substance Use
LGBT+ Behavioral Health 
Transgender Healthcare
Erik Epp – Content Author