How can gay couples learn to deal with alcohol and drug abuse?
Let me ask you a difficult question. What you do if you surprisingly found out that your partner had a drug or alcohol problem? Recently several couples have approached us in this very position.
One partner feels totally embarrassed, the other feels lied to.
They usually begin by asking the question, "Should we do couples counseling or does he (or she) need individual therapy?"
Thankfully there is exciting new research coming out about this very topic, conducted by the University of Rochester and Harvard Medical School. The study followed 100 gay and lesbian couples through alcohol treatment. Some did couples counseling, some did individual counseling.For both gay and lesbian couples, those who completed behavioral couples therapy had far less heavy drinking days one year after treatment ended, compared to those who only did individual therapy.
In addition, couples completing behavioral couples therapy also felt much happier about the state of their relationship at the end of treatment compared to those who only did individual counseling.
This study gives new hope for same-sex couples wanting to change addiction patterns. At the Gay Couples Institute we do the same behavioral couples therapy recommended in this study, and tend to find the same results. For those couples struggling with other forms of addiction treatment, maybe it's time to consider a new way to approach your situation? Give us a call at 877-424-1221 to learn about your options, or just schedule an appointment online.