June 25, 2009

My doctoral psychotherapy practicum on the Valeo Intensive Outpatient Unit at Chicago Lakeshore Hospital focused on the treatment of mentally ill substance abusers within the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) community. Valeo is one of three GLBT-focused treatment programs in the Chicago area, along with Howard Brown and The Center on Halsted.

These three sites collaborate to provide their externs with weekly didactic sessions on issues specific to individuals within the GLBT community. So, over the past year I gained a very broad base of knowledge about the clinical issues and approaches recognized within this field, while simultaneously working with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered clients. This provided an integrative experience that definitely improved my understanding of the interactions between social and psychological factors for minority groups.

Didactic sessions I attended included:

• Boundaries & Self Disclosure
• Internalized Devaluation & the Coming Out Process
• Substance Abuse Assessment Issues
• Assessment Issues with Transgender Clients
• Domestic Violence Assessment Issues
• GLBT Youth
• Midlife Issues for GLBT Clients
• Issues in Older Adult GLBT Populations
• GLBT Sexual Assault: Barriers to Care, Recovery, & Survivorship
• Work with the BDSM/Kink/Leather Communities
• GLBT Issues in Higher Levels of Care
• Spirituality Issues in the GLBT Community
• Termination Issues