Shoreline Recovery Center Incorporates LGBTQAI+ Community’s Best Interest Into Treatment

Press Release


Sep 30, 2022 15:00 PDT

Frequently, adults in recovery have a limited understanding of the LGBTQIA+ community and how a person’s sexual minority status can result in drug or alcohol addiction. This lack of awareness can have negative effects on those in the community struggling with coming out or may have contributed to their substance abuse in the first place. The Shoreline Recovery Center helps address the issue members of this community may face through its programming and staff, which teach specific curriculum to help heal recovering individuals so they can learn to become self-sufficient and thrive. Up to 25 percent (or one in four) of the clients served here identify as LGBTQ2IA+, so it’s essential to be aware of any stigma or feelings of marginalization. 

Shoreline Recovery Center is an Encinitas-based, dual-diagnosis alcohol and drug rehab facility with flexible, personalized treatment plans that combine evidence-based therapies, clinical best practices and opportunities to expand job skills and training. Its sister facility is Park Mental Health Treatment of San Diego, which serves patients healing from alcohol and drug addiction who also need mental health care.

Nothing at Shoreline Recovery Center starts at status quo or remains there, but rather challenges it for the betterment of its clients. Starting with the inclusion of hiring gender-affirming therapists, the admissions process is set up to ensure that clients from all backgrounds feel welcomed, supported and are celebrated throughout supervision meetings, which focus heavily on discussions of equity, inclusion and diversity. 

“We serve the community well because of how we intentionally staff the programs,” said Shoreline Recovery Center’s Executive Director Kate Judd. “They are educated on potential biases, blind spots and privileges that we carry to provoke conversations that result in how to best serve this population.”

Dr. Thouvenot, the program psychiatrist, offers gender-affirming care with clients from the trans community. She has also implemented trainings on transgender allyship throughout the organization.

Shoreline Recovery Center offers an inclusive environment and works against the stigma of addiction, mental health, sexual orientation and gender identity so all clients who arrive at Shoreline feel part of its community. It affirms that people who are considered as different have the same ability to better versions of themselves for their families, friends and in society. The results are due to the curriculum, which is structured to provide clients with programs and services that create high levels of success through long-term sobriety.

“The No. 1 way we serve our clients and loved ones while being a community resource is by creating leaders in our program,” Judd said. “We place a heavy emphasis on learning leadership skills so as many graduates as possible leave empowered and move onto similar roles within their own communities.”

The main priority of Shoreline Recovery Center is healing the family system from addiction. “We’re serving each individual to increase their self-esteem and feeling of belonging, which creates an endless ripple effect and produces resiliency,” Judd said.

Source: Shoreline Recovery Center

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