Aftercare Policies and Procedures
Aftercare is critical for any client being discharged from a substance abuse treatment program. Establishing the following policies and procedures will help ensure adequate post-discharge care for LGBT clients.
• Identify a contact person who is an openly LGBT staff member and who will be available to LGBT graduates if they face any recovery crisis after discharge.
• Establish training procedures in which all staff members are educated about issues LGBT individuals face upon discharge. Include workshops on relapse triggers specific to LGBT individuals in recovery.
• Ensure that discharge procedures help LGBT clients develop relapse prevention strategies for high-risk situations specific to them, such as reentering bar-oriented LGBT communities, coming out to their family of origin if they decide to do so, and dealing with homophobia, discrimination, and/or gay bashing.
• Ensure that discharge procedures include providing each LGBT client with a comprehensive list of LGBT-specific and/or LGBT-sensitive community resources and services, along with clear information about how to access these services.