Behavioral therapy can help gay and bisexual men (GBM) reduce crystal methamphetamine abuse and risky sexual behaviors and sustain these gains for 1 year, NIDA-funded researchers report. By the end of a 16-week trial of four different behavioral therapies, study participants’ stimulant-positive urine samples fell 31 percent, and their number of past-month sexual partners fell more than 50 percent—outcomes that regressed little at the followup visits. Symptoms of depression also improved.

Dr. Steven Shoptaw and colleagues at the University of California, Los Angeles and the Friends Research Institute recruited 263 crystal methamphetamine-addicted Gay and Bisexual Men throughout Los Angeles County, particularly in Hollywood, where HIV prevalence is especially high. Of these, 162 completed the requirements for entering the addiction treatment phase of the study, which were to attend six assessments and participate in at least two of four group sessions on abstinence skills during a 2-week “baseline period.” Men who met the requirements reported less severity and shorter duration of methamphetamine abuse than those who did not, despite having abused methamphetamine for 5 years and having spent $293 on the drug in the past month, on average. Half had engaged in unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) with someone other than their primary partner in the past month, and 84 percent of these men linked the behavior to methamphetamine abuse. Most participants (73 percent) reported symptoms of depression, with about 30 percent describing these as moderate to severe.

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Short-term inpatient drug addiction and alcohol rehab programs keep patients up to 30 days in a drug rehab or alcohol treatment center. Most of these addiction treatment programs focus on medical stabilization, abstinence, and lifestyle changes. Staff members are primarily medical professionals and counselors trained in the treatment of drug addiction and alcohol addiction.

Short-Term Residential drug rehab and alcohol rehabs provide intensive but relatively brief residential addiction treatment based on a modified 12-step approach, talk and group therapy. Once primarily for alcohol abuse treatment, these programs expanded into drug abuse treatment in the 1980s. Reduced health care coverage for substance abuse treatment and drug rehab programs has resulted in a diminished number of these programs, and the average length of stay under managed care review is much shorter than in early programs, averaging 7-14 days.

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Gay, Lesbian Substance Abuse Issues Research findings vary on rates of alcohol abuse, alcoholism, drug addiction and drug abuse among lesbians and gay men, but experts maintain that drug and alcohol abuse are significant health and mental health concerns for sexual minorities. One study found that lesbians and gay men were twice as likely to be moderate drinkers, but about equally as likely to be heavy drinkers, as heterosexuals. Experts note the likelihood of a link between internalized homophobia, low self-esteem, ongoing discrimination and alcohol abuse and drug abuse. GLBT who seek addiction treatment for substance abuse problems may encounter barriers to addiction treatment in unsupportive service settings. This is the reason for the need of gay friendly drug rehab programs and gay friendly alcohol rehab programs.

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• Ideally, drug addiction, alcoholism and psychiatric disorders should be treated simultaneously.
• The first step in addiction treatment for drug addiction or alcohol addiction must be detoxification or detox – a period of time during which the body is allowed to cleanse itself of alcohol and/or drugs and all withdrawal symptoms managed.
• Detox should be medically monitored as medical challenges do occur. Time in detox varies, depending on what substances the person is addicted to, the frequency of use and amount of usage.
• Once stable in detox, a psychiatrist will assess the person to determine the mental illness and how to best address it. Addiction treatment programs or drug rehab programs for this population should take a gradual approach. Those with a dual diagnosis have to proceed at their own pace.
• The goal of any quality drug addiction treatment program or drug rehab program should be abstinence and medication compliance.
• After completing drug addiction treatment or drug / alcohol rehab, the person should be involved in psychiatric follow up and aftercare in the drug rehab or addiction treatment program they have completed in order to prevent relapse.

Denial is an inherent part of the problem with dual diagnosis. The person with dual diagnosis often does not have insight as to the seriousness and the scope of their problem. In many cases, an intervention is required to get the person into addiction treatment or drug rehab so the recovery process can begin

Many drug rehab programs attempt to teach the patient new methods of interacting in a drug free method. In particular, patients are generally encouraged or required not to associate with friends who still use the addictive substance. 12 step programs encourage addicts not only to stop using alcohol or other drugs, but to examine and change habits related to their addictions. Many drug rehab programs emphasize that recovery is a permanent process without a culmination. For legal drugs such as alcohol complete abstention rather than attempts at moderation, which may lead to relapse are also emphasized (”One drink is too many; one hundred drinks is not enough.”) Whether moderation is achievable by persons with a history of drug abuse remains a controversial point but is generally considered unsustainable.

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Further complicating drug rehab statistics is the confusion concerning the causes of drug addiction. Too many media outlets breathlessly report each instance of genetic correlation as an “aha!” moment, claiming they have discovered a gene for alcoholism or something similar. In fact, the medical literature is clear on this point: there is no such thing as a gene or set of genes for any drug addiction.

What we do know is that drug addiction tends to be driven by the same emotions, memories and associations that comprise personality in general, so the only way to stop the destructive cycle is to understand what’s behind it. For insight such as this you may want to speak with a drug rehab professional or addiction treatment specialist who is trained in addiction counseling, especially if you can find lots of individual time to work on such issues. The results of this approach tend to be far more impressive than any other this drug rehab industry has yet created.

What is this drug addiction treatment success based on?
While there may not be an actual secret to addiction treatment success, a successful drug addiction treatment center simply helps the person suffering from drug addiction or alcoholism to break through their denial, become honest and work towards wanting recovery as much as they desired drugs or alcohol. Drug addiction treatment, whether for alcoholism, dual diagnosis or an eating disorder is a process, not an event, and takes time.

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I offer this example because it is so different from what I usually see. In my intervention work I have found—whether they are lesbian, gay, or straight—that very few people in a relationship with a drug addiction or alcohol addiction seek addiction treatment prior to getting married. Most continue with their drug addiction and alcoholism in denial and hoping things will get better. Needless to say, things rarely get better as the drug addiction or alcoholism becomes more progressive.

It is difficult to move forward in any relationship when drug addiction or alcoholism are present as communication begins to break down, drug use becomes the priority and depression, anger and resentment are all common place.

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Florida Gay Alcohol Rehab

Now imagine that we ask a gay or lesbian to check into an alcohol rehab run by a group of heterosexual men and women. It is like asking an anorexic to check into an addiction treatment program for compusive overeaters. This could be their worst nightmare. Don’t misunderstand me, this doesn’t mean that the alcohol rehab has to be run by all gay men and women. That is not the real world. The alcohol rehab must, as a minimum, have a gay alcohol rehab component, within the alcohol rehab itself. This will provide the gay or lesbian with a “safe space” in which to express their feelings and thoughts without thinking they are being judged. Their are many other clinical benefits derived from a gay alcohol rehab run in this fashion, such as being able to eal with internalized homophobia, but it also allow for the heterosexual to deal with their own homophobia. Everybody wins!