Can Transgender People Find Their Place in a Rehab Center?
The transgender community faces specific hurdles to sobriety and specific triggers for substance abuse that aren’t widespread among all communities. Given the high percentage of transgender people with a substance use disorder, treatment programs need to be attuned to these needs and meeting them with regularity. But, that isn’t the case.
For a variety of reasons, many transgender people fail to find a place in rehab and, therefore, aren’t able to thrive in recovery.
If you are a transgendered person, you may feel like there isn’t a point in continuing to pursue recovery from your addiction because you assume you will be met with the same isolating aggressions that you face in the rest of your life. But, there are a growing number of treatment centers, often LGBTQ ones, that have developed a sensitivity to this particular population.
Rather than let your future be determined by the substances you abuse, you can take control and the first step is finding a rehab center that will sensitively support and guide you into recovery. For help finding that treatment program, call RehabCenters.com at 800-481-6320Who Answers?. We are prepared to answer all of your questions. You aren’t alone.
The Difficulty of Gender Segregation
Members of the transgender community may avoid rehab in fear of being rejected.
One of the barriers to proper care faced by transgendered individuals is the practice of separating patients by gender. This causes a variety of problems.
If trans people are forced to cohabitate with people that share their birth or assigned gender, they have already been isolated and rejected before their treatment even started.
On the other hand, if they are placed according to the gender with which they identify, they may face aggression from other patients, which leads once again to rejection and isolation.
In addition to people who identify as the opposite of their birth gender, there are many people who fall under the trans heading because they reject the gender binary. Where do these people fit?
It’s imperative that you find out whether or not your prospective rehab center segregates by gender and, if so, you need to determine which gender you would be assigned and how educated the staff and other patients will be to trans issues related to this style of management. You deserve to be respected and included.
Lack of Education Causes Problems
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, transgender people live in a society that “discriminates against them, condones violence against them, and denies them basic civil rights.” Many trans people will take those prejudices and internalize them. They end up hating themselves. The counselors at a rehab center may be the only people trans individuals can open up to. SAMHSA asserts substance abuse counselors hare in the position to treat the substance abuse and to refer clients to resources that can help them with larger transgender issues.
But, that can’t happen if the substance abuse counselors and staff aren’t educated about trans issues.
As the gender segregation scenario demonstrates, many people have a hard time navigating their acceptance and understanding of a trans person’s gender. They may be misgendered, often unintentionally, by staff, other clients, and counselors, they are minimized, as is their treatment.
It is this lack of acceptance and understanding that feeds into the high rates of addiction and dual diagnosis among trans people. Dual diagnosis is given when a person suffers from more than one condition. In addition to addiction, high levels of trans people also suffer from depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. In fact, SAMHSA references the largest national survey of trans adults, in which 41 percent of respondents admitted having attempted suicide.
When looking for a rehab center, ask about the level of trans education the staff has attained. The more educated they are, the better the treatment they will provide.
Trans-Specific Elements
It is a start that the personal at your rehab center be educated, but you will also need for your specific experiences to be addressed. The center must be inclusive and this means addressing the social situations specific to trans people. For example, you will need access to your hormone therapy while you go through rehab. You will need therapy that explores the trans identity.
You deserve to find a place in a rehab center, but you aren’t going to find one everywhere. You need to do your homework, and RehabCenters.com wants to help. Call us at 800-481-6320Who Answers? and find a treatment program that is educated, respects your gender, and specifically meets your needs.
