Author: Right Step
Published: 7th Jan 2015
Peer-Reviewed Publication: N/A
Additional References: Sexual Health Information Publications
Summary: The Right Step Galleria and Woodlands in Houston offering exclusive track for LGBTQI clients seeking supportive approach to addiction treatment.
Several of The Right Step's intensive outpatient addiction treatment centers in the Houston area are now offering special programming created to address the needs of gay and lesbian clients. As part of their addiction services, the centers are providing LGBTQI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning and Intersex) group and individual sessions designed to explore issues in an accepting environment, among peers.
"We believe that this community has been underserved for too long," says Robert Weiss, LCSW, CSAT-S, senior vice president of clinical development for The Right Step's parent company Elements Behavioral Health. "We understand that the LGBT and straight communities have many points in common, but we also know that gay clients battling addiction have special issues rooted in our culture and our society that drive addiction in a way that needs to be addressed separately from a larger population. That's why we've developed this program." Weiss is noted for pioneering highly successful treatment centers for intimacy and sexual disorders at facilities such as The Sexual Recovery Institute in Los Angeles, the Center for Relationship and Sexual Recovery at The Ranch in Nunnelly, Tennessee, and at The Right Step in Dallas, Texas.
The group and individual therapy sessions are facilitated by experienced therapists who have special training, personal experience, and appreciation for social and family issues that LGBTQI clients often struggle with, including early emotional isolation, social and family rejection, and lifelong trauma.
"Gays and lesbians here in Houston are struggling with addiction and not getting the treatment that they need, treatment that focuses on integration and acceptance," says Linda Snook, LCDCI, director of the company's Galleria center. "Our Galleria and Woodlands centers will offer a place to go where therapists understand the fundamental reality of how being invisible, marginalized or misunderstood can fuel addiction. I'm passionate about this program."
Clients in the company's Woodlands and Galleria intensive outpatient programs attend group sessions three or four days a week. They can attend morning or evening sessions, depending on their schedules and needs, and also have their own workshops and group therapy sessions. Broad themes of the LGBTQI sessions include how trauma, rejection and discrimination create underlying issues that promote addiction and how to recognize and address these issues.
"Those of us in the gay and lesbian community understand the importance of having a safe place where we don't have to explain ourselves," says Sylva D. Frock, PhD, CSAT, national coordinator of clinical development for Elements Behavioral Health. "In this program you don't have to translate information or run it through a filter so that it's relevant to your life. This program is about working through these issues with others who understand who just get it."
The Right Step family of programs has been offering quality treatment for addiction in centers throughout Texas since 1990. "Being a leader in the industry and creating specialty programs sets us apart and enables us to offer a space in the field to promote health and wellness," says Julie DeNofa, regional vice president for The Right Step. "We're helping people reclaim their lives, learn to live life sober and focus on areas significant to them."
Robert Weiss is widely considered one of the nation's foremost experts on sex and technology addictions along with the intimacy disorders that often underlie these problems. A media expert to CNN, The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, The Oprah Winfrey Network, ESPN, The New York Times, USA Today, NBC News and the Today Show, among others, Weiss also has provided clinical training and program development for the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. military, and behavioral treatment centers throughout the United States, Europe and Asia.
The Right Step family of programs is a network of outpatient and inpatient addiction treatment centers in Texas. Founded in 1990, it provides compassionate, comprehensive treatment for substance abuse and co-occurring issues. In recognition of its high-quality programming, breadth and depth of treatment services, and commitment to personalized care, it has earned full accreditation by the Joint Commission. Today, it is one of the largest private treatment providers for chemical dependency and co-occurring issues in the Southwest. For more information about The Right Step family of programs, call (855) 893-5987 or visit www.rightstep.com
The Right Step family of programs is a member of Elements Behavioral Health, a family of behavioral health programs located throughout the U.S. Elements offers comprehensive, innovative treatment for substance abuse, sexual addiction, trauma, eating disorders and other mental health disorders. We are committed to delivering clinically sophisticated treatment that promotes permanent lifestyle change, not only for the patient but for the entire family system. For more information about Elements Behavioral Health, visit www.elementsbehavioralhealth.com
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• (APA): Right Step. (2015, January 7). Right Step Addiction Treatment Centers for LGBT in Houston. SexualDiversity.org. Retrieved February 3, 2026 from www.sexualdiversity.org/sexuality/health/289.php
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