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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 4-page paper covers issues that counselors must face when treating substance abuse in the homosexual population. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_MThomcou.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
compassion from the counselor who is overseeing the treatment. But what happens when the subject being counseled is gay or lesbian?
It might be tempting simply to dismiss the idea of sexual identity as important when it comes to counseling and substances abuse. But the truth is (and much of the
literature supports this), that counseling methods are going to be different when it comes to counseling the homosexual population on substance abuse, namely because the reasons for the abuse might
be different. First, it might be helpful to define what substance abuse is. Zhankun (2003) defines such abuase as "a maladaptive pattern
of using alcohol or other drugs . . ." (Zhankun, 2003, 323). Such a pattern, he continues, ends up having terrible consequences socially, physically, legally and personally (Zhankun, 2003).
Zhankun also points out that while counseling is the generally accepted practice for such abuse, and while gays and lesbians are gradually being
accepted by society, there is still a lack of acceptance among much of the mental health profession in terms of homosexuality. Not only are professionals unaware that their clientele might
be gay, they are unaware of some of the issues that might be impacting this particular community, and this could have a definite outcome on the treatment (Zhankun, 2003).
The truth is, however, that there could be a high rate of substance abuse among the gay community - and the factors for
this high rate include the gay bar scene, problems with low self-esteem (thanks, in part to homophobia on behalf of society), potential sexual abuse as a child, painful experiences in
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