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New book aims to provide guidance to addiction practitioners working with sexual minority communities and clients
Successfully preventing and treating drug and alcohol addictions in gay, lesbian, bisexual and other sexual minority people is addressed in a new book aimed at the addiction prevention and treatment sector.
Making Visible: Improving services for sexual minority people in alcohol and other drug addiction prevention and treatment, by Frank Pega and Ian MacEwan, is published by Matua Raki, the National Addiction Workforce Centre, and has been distributed to all addiction treatment services nationally.
It aims to be the main resource for addiction practitioners working with gay, lesbian, bisexual and other sexual minority clients, especially Māori or Pacific sexual minority people (such as takatāpui, fa’afafine, fa’afatama, akava’ine, fakaleiti, and fiafifine) and young sexual minority people.
“National and international research shows that sexual minority people have a significantly higher prevalence of alcohol and other drug use than heterosexual people,” says lead author Frank Pega. “Sexual minority people who experience negative reactions from others are more likely to use alcohol and drugs as a coping mechanism. They might also struggle to develop positive self-esteem and a healthy sense of identity – factors that would otherwise help guard against addiction.”
He says addiction practitioners -- including health promoters, counsellors and clinicians -- need to take the lead in making their services accessible and effective for sexual minority people.
“If an addiction treatment practitioner ignores a sexual minority client’s addiction issues that are related to sexual orientation during treatment, recovery may be prolonged or problematic – or may not occur at all. Even worse, treatment that ignores these issues may exacerbate the problems for which a person is seeking help.”
Mr Pega says today most addiction practitioners are willing to respond to the particular needs of sexual minority communities and clients. However, they face three main challenges:
- accessing the relevant knowledge
- providing competent staff
- dealing one on one with sexual minority clients
Making Visible will help to overcome these challenges.
“As the national agency co-ordinating the development of the addiction workforce, we support this resource and commend it to practitioners in problem prevention and treatment,” says Matua Raki Director Raine Berry. “As a community, we have a responsibility to work towards the prevention of alcohol and drug problems and treatment for those affected, especially for those at higher risk.”
Author information:
Frank Pega’s experience spans research and policy appointments with academic institutions, public health service providers, central government, and international health organisations. He has conducted a number of research studies on the health and wellbeing of sexual minorities. As the lead researcher of a Massey University study, he investigated the epidemiology of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use among lesbian, gay, and bisexual people in New Zealand, compared to heterosexual people.
Ian MacEwan has worked for 40 years in addiction treatment, including working with homeless men, a hospital-based service, half-way houses, community detoxification, and community treatment services. He has worked in treatment development for British and New Zealand government agencies for 18 years, including the Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand (ALAC) and Matua Raki. Currently, he is executive director of the Drug and Alcohol Practitioners Association of Aotearoa New Zealand (DAPAANZ). He has written over 50 publications.
This book updates an earlier version of Making Visible, published 20 years ago. |
