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Florida's Gay Population and Florida's Gay Alcohol Rehab Programs

Florida's gay and lesbian population is growing daily and with it is a growing need for gay and lesbian addiction treatment services. For the purpose of this article we are concerned with gay drug rehab, gay dual diagnosis and gay alcohol rehab services.

Regardless of where a person is from, they bring their personal history with them. In the case of the gay and lesbian, the personal histories of which I speak are related to prejudice, discrimination, internalized hompohobia and shame. Growing up gay and having to deal with the attitudes of the general public and family, have led many gay and lesbians to the world of drug addiction and alcoholism. Unfortunately, what happens is the attitudes of the heterosexual population become worse as the gay man or woman becomes drug dependent and their ability to cope with their feelings diminish even further.

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 compulsive 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. There are many other clinical benefits derived from a gay alcohol rehab run in this fashion, such as being able to deal with internalized homophobia, but it will also allow for the heterosexual to deal with their own homophobia. Everybody wins!