Queering Substance Use Recovery
Exploring recovery in every stage for LGBTQ+ people
LGBTQ+ people face unique challenges when considering substance use recovery.
Most outpatient groups are based in a gender binary, rigid structures, and lack of focus on LGBTQIA+ issues.
The purpose of this group is to create an environment that encourages people to interact with one another with different recovery goals and approaches, and processing the emotions that may come up with this. This mirrors the outside world and what participants will experience on a daily basis.
Mondays
5:30pm - 7:00pm
Virtual
Facilitated by Alex Lahr and Meredith Wilde
Currently Enrolling
If you're interested in group therapy enrollment, please click "Join" to fill out an intake questionnaire. A group facilitator will follow up with you via email to schedule a group therapy intake session.
Meet Your Therapists
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They/Them
Alex is a second-year MSW candidate at Hunter College’s Silberman School of Social Work and thrilled to be joining IHI. Prior to their graduate studies, Alex spent five years at Mountainside Treatment Center as a Recovery Coach to help people navigate early recovery from substance use disorders (SUDs), where they also started a weekly queer virtual support group in response to the pandemic. Because of their passion around recovery’s impact on a person’s identity, Alex recognized they wanted to expand their professional horizons by pursuing a master’s degree in social work.
Last year, Alex interned at El Regreso in Brooklyn (a long-term residential treatment facility) where they worked with individual clients and ran support groups. It was a formative experience and gave Alex insight into working with populations they hadn’t encountered as a coach. Combined with their studies at Silberman, Alex began to see SUDs in the context of systems that oppress and further marginalize queer people. Alex believes in a strengths-based, non-judgmental approach that respects individuals as they grow and evolve into their authentic self.
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She/Her
Meredith is a queer, transgender woman originally from Utah and received her Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts in Modern Dance. She is currently attending Hunter College’s Silberman School of Social Work, pursuing her Master’s Degree in Clinical Social Work with a specialization in Mental Health. Her professional experience has been working primarily with people experiencing substance use disorders and working directly with queer and gender-diverse adults.
She has an eclectic approach to therapy, primarily drawing upon Psychodynamic theories and Systems Theory. Through these lenses, She approaches each client individually, recognizing the importance of connection, safety, personal awareness, and relational healing as vital to the therapeutic process and understanding the intricacies of that client’s unique background.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does this group define recovery? (Do I have to be sober to join this group?)
We each define it differently.
No two paths towards, within, or through recovery look the exact same. Part of the nuance of our Queering Substance Use Recovery group is how we welcome folx at all different stages of their substance use recovery journey — whether you have curiosity your relationship with substances, or a decade of sobriety under your belt, or anywhere in between.
We invite you to join this space as a means of exploring what recovery means for you, and taking steps in that direction at your pace.
How does substance use impact queer communities?
Roughly 20-30% of LGBTQ+ folx struggle with substance use, compared to about 9% of the general population. Due to unjust discrimination, shame, systemic disparities, and more, LGBTQ+ folx face higher rates of mental health struggles and may turn towards substances to cope.
Historically (and currently), LGBBTQ+ folx have less equitable access to affirming, high quality, ongoing mental healthcare. Finding a provider that understands the nuances of intersectional mental health, queerness, and substance use challenges can be challenging.
Our aim is to fill the care gap for queer folks navigating substance use — its causes, impacts, and aftermath.
How do I know if this group is the right fit for me?
If you feel like this group is a fit for you after reading through this information, we invite you to apply. We envision that those joining us may be navigating some of the following circumstances:
Using substances to cope with stress, especially related to your gender identity, sexuality, or queerness
Questioning your relationship to substances
Exploring your queer identity
Feeling isolated in recovery spaces that don’t meet your needs
Managing your mental health and substance use alone
Leaning on substance use tied to sex, dating, relationships, or nightlife
You may also bring something into the group that is not listed here. We welcome you on your journey — wherever that may be.