Pride Month 2020: Recovery in the LGBTQ Community

In June we observe Pride Month to support and celebrate the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Pride Month also brings attention to the health care disparities that affect the LGBT community and other underserved populations. 

"LGBT people grow up with many society pressures that they don't necessarily know how to cope with," says Dr. Tom Freese, director of the Pacific Southwest Addiction Technology Transfer Center. Dr. Freese also serves as co-director of the Center of Excellence on Racial and Ethnic Minority Young Men Who Have Sex with Men and Other Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Populations. 

"So they may turn to substances as a way of helping to cope with the pressures they they experience growing up different in society," adds Dr. Freese. "We also see significantly higher rates of depression and anxiety diagnoses across the LGBT community." 

Dr. Freese gives an overview of these issues and how treatment providers who work with the LGBT clients can help them in the Great Lakes ATTC podcast, Recovery in the LGBT Community.

Listen to the complete podcast here. (Listening time: 10:09)