Gay Men, COVID-19, and Avoiding the Pitfalls: Substances, Lethargy, and Despair

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Gay Men, COVID-19, and Avoiding the Pitfalls: Substances, Lethargy, and Despair   Identifying and Coping with the “Pitfalls” in COVID-19 As I continue online therapy and coaching sessions in my practice at GayTherapyLA as a gay men’s specialist for individuals and couples (over 28 years in 2020), I’m seeing the effects of COVID-19 on guys … Read more

Beyond Crystal Meth Recovery: Meth Prevention for Gay Men

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Beyond Crystal Meth Recovery: Meth Prevention for Gay Men Over my long (27 years) career as a gay therapist who is a specialist in therapy for gay men and gay male couples counseling, I’ve worked with many guys who are in recovery from crystal meth abuse and dependence (I don’t use the non-clinical term “addiction”, … Read more

Gay Men in Recovery: 4 Tips to Cope with HALT (Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired)

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Sounds dire, doesn’t it? Here you are, doing the good, hard work it takes to get clean and sober.  But on top of your daily struggle, you’re warned (usually in AA) that you may have four other demons to confront: Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired. These are the unsettlers that may tempt you to head back … Read more

Gay Men and Marijuana Over-Use: Getting Clean from Green

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When it’s good, it’s very, very good. You’re relaxed. Sounds and sights are more vivid. Everything is a bit funny. Time loses its tyranny. Man, this feeling is great! Well, okay, there’s the clumsiness, hunger and thirst, and distorted senses, but at first, and maybe (for some people) for a very long time, the pluses … Read more

Gay Men and Alcohol: The Relationship with the Bottle

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Today I wanted to write about gay men and alcohol, and what I call their “relationship” with the bottle.  Over my many years as a psychotherapist, one of the most frequent issues my clients bring to me is a concern about their drinking, or perhaps their drug use.  There is a wide range; some people … Read more

Getting Crystal Clear: A New Deal (Crystal Meth Recovery) for Gay Men

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Counseling, Therapy and Coaching for Gay Men in Los Angeles, California
Counseling, Therapy and Coaching for Gay Men in Los Angeles, California

The Mental Health Aspects of Crystal Meth Recovery

In my long career working as a gay men’s specialist psychotherapist, coach, and AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, as the founder of GayTherapyLA, perhaps no issue is hotter in the gay community these days than that of Crystal Meth. It seems everyone is either doing it themselves, or knows someone who uses regularly, and almost everyone knows someone who “has a problem” with it – from problem use that affects their job or relationships, to full-on addiction that has the same effect as a major medical illness. In my work as a psychotherapist, nearly one-third of my practice consists of gay men who are trying to get off, and stay off, using crystal. While various drug treatment centers exist, and while AA and CMA are vital resources in the community, the mental health aspects of crystal use deserve more attention and discussion in the community.

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Crystal…Clear?

In considering the combination of gay men, sex, and crystal meth, a number of considerations come to mind for mental health professionals and researchers. For the first part, discussing gay men and sex, care must be taken to avoid generalizations, just as care would be taken to demonstrate cultural competency and absence of prejudice in discussing any subgroup of the general population. Why is it that gay men (excuse me, “men who have sex with men”) are still subject to a certain scientific, distancing condescension that is widely recognized as off-limits (rightfully so) for any other American minority?

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HIV, Mental Health, and Substances – Public Health or Politics?

Ever since the days of Prohibition in the 1920’s, or the 1938 camp film, “Reefer Madness”, substances and American politics have clashed in a way that goes far beyond the actual health risks of alcohol or “recreational” drugs and into a moralistic quagmire that leaves people confused and conflicted about just what to believe. I have seen this frequently in my work as a therapist with people who are living with HIV and have issues, or even just questions, about substance use, abuse, and addiction.

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