Recovery – LGBT Foundation

Recovery groups

jbeesocope — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 14:49:31 +0000

Looking for some support with your recovery journey? We have a number of groups for you.

Here and now

Tuesdays, 6pm @ LGBT Foundation

A mutual aid support group for LGBT+ people to share their experiences with each other in a safe space and a friendly atmosphere. Whether you’re right at the beginning of your journey or you’re wanting to maintain your goals in your recovery, here and now is a place for everybody to come together. The meetings are held every Tuesday at the new LGBT Foundation space: 2nd Floor Fairburn House, Sackville Street, M1 3NJ.

Chemsafe: Monthly group

Last Wednesday of the month 6pm-8pm

This group is a monthly space available both in person and online

Each session will have a different topic and we will look at sharing helpful information and discussion and support around these topics.

We will cover topics such as; consent, sober sex, harm reduction, online safety and other topics that are identified as relevant.

As with all our groups there will be an element of peer support, here specifically for people who have been or are currently being affected by crystal meth/GBL and other substances relating to chemsex. This group consists of friendly and non-judgmental people who are there to give each other peer-led advice and share experiences to help overcome substance misuse, chemsex triggers and empower each other to reach individual goals whether that be sober sex or a harm reduction route, your journey is yours to make!

LGBT SMART Recovery:

Thursdays, 6pm @ LGBT Foundation & on Zoom

SMART Recovery is a self-management cognitive behavioural therapy recovery program, where you can work with peers in a safe space to learn how to use simple tools to look at motivation, cravings, urges and relapse prevention. SMART tools can help you manage your addictive behaviours and also be used universally in your day-to-day life. This group takes place both online via Zoom (email for access), and in person at our centre: 2nd Floor Fairburn House, Sackville Street, M1 3NJ.

Understanding your alcohol and drug use

jbeesocope — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 19:16:27 +0000

Wondering if your drinking and drug use has become a problem?
Here’s some tools to help you.

Concerned you’ve been over-indulging with drugs and alcohol?

If you want to know more about your alcohol and/or drug intake, you can use this page to take a ‘What’s your alcohol score?’ Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test and ‘What’s your drug score?’ drug intake test.

Understanding your drinking

Many people don’t always know how much alcohol they drink and whether their drinking could have any impact on their health. Our alcohol self-assessment can help you identify if the amount you drink could be putting your health at serious risk.

We use a tool developed by the World Health Organisation, called ‘AUDIT’, that is used internationally by medical professionals to check for alcohol harm, including dependence. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) is a 10-item screening tool to assess alcohol consumption, drinking behaviors, and alcohol-related problems. Whatever your score is, if you feel that you want to discuss your alcohol use with someone then give us a call.

Take the AUDIT test

what is an alcoholic unit?

Units are a simple way of calculating the alcohol content in a drink. With different drinks, measures and glass sizes it can be difficult to keep track of the alcohol content you’re consuming. Units are a simple way of expressing the quantity of pure alcohol in a drink.

One unit equals 10ml or 8g of pure alcohol, which is around the amount of alcohol the average adult can process in an hour. Units will typically be displayed on the side of any bottles of alcohol, although when ordering drinks in bars it can be more tricky. Government guidelines recommend that you do not drink over 14 units in a single week.

Find out your drug intake score

The questionnaire below will help you understand your drug risks.

The answer to each question comes with a corresponding score. Add up all your scores and see your risk level.

A result of 25 or above indicates possible dependence on drugs.

A score between 10-24 indicates increasing risk.

The maximum score is 44.

If you would like to someone about your result, please call us on 0345 3 30 30 30 or email recovery@lgbt.foundation.

	SCORE
QUESTIONS	0	1	2	3	4
1. How often do you use drugs other than alcohol?	Never	Once a month of less often	2-4 times a month	2-3 times a week	4 times a week or more
2. Do you use more than one type of drug on the same occasion?	Never	Once a month of less often	2-4 times a month	2-3 times a week	4 times a week or more
3. How many times do you take drugs on a typical day when you use drugs?	0	1-2	3-4	5-6	7 or more
4. How often are you heavily influenced by drugs?	Never	Less often than once a month	Every month	Every week	Daily or almost daily
5. Over the past year, have you felt that your longing for drugs was so strong that you could not resist it?	Never	Less often than once a month	Every month	Every week	Daily or almost daily
6. Has it happened, over the past year that you have not been able to stop taking drugs once you started?	Never	Less often than once a month	Every month	Every week	Daily or almost daily
7. How often over the past year have you taken drugs and then not done something you should have done?	Never	Less often than once a month	Every month	Every week	Daily or almost daily
8. How often over the past year have you needed to take a drug the morning after heavy drug use the day before?	Never	Less often than once a month	Every month	Every week	Daily or almost daily
9. How often over the past year have you had guilt feelings or a bad conscience because you used drugs?	Never	Less often than once a month	Every month	Every week	Daily or almost daily
10. Have you or anyone else been mentally/physically hurt because you used drugs?	Never		Yes, but not over the last year	Yes, in the last year
11. Has a relative or a friend, a doctor or a nurse, or anyone else, been worried about your drug use or said to you that you should stop using drugs?	Never		Yes, but not over the last year	Yes, in the last year
TOTAL SCORE ___

ChemSex support and advice

jbeesocope — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 17:30:09 +0000

Wondering what ChemSex is and how can you stay safe?

What is chemsex?

Chemsex involves using drugs and getting high while you are having sex. ChemSex is a term that is used when people are having sex, which involves using one or more of three specific drugs (chems) in any combination. People take part in ChemSex for a number of different reasons, some find it increases sexual stimulation, for other people it can reduce their inhibitions. ChemSex can take place in groups, and it can often last for days or over a weekend.

What drugs are considered chemsex?

The drugs usually associated with this are:

Crystal Meth (Tina)
Mephedrone (M-Cat)
GHB/GBL (G)

They are often taken together & with other drugs which increases risk.

Our definition of chemsex is expanding to include other drugs such as:

Cocaine
Ketamine
MDMA
Alcohol

Who has chemsex?

Our understanding of who engages in ChemSex is expanding. Typically, ChemSex involves men who sleep with men.

What should i be aware of?

Mobile phone apps also play a part in chemsex as people search for drugs and for people to get high and have sex with.

People often get to a place where the “drugs take over” and sex with others is not a part of their use anymore.

MORE INFORMATION

What support is available?

For people in Manchester, we offer 1-2-1 sessions looking at:

triggers,
motivation,
setting individual goals
looking at ways to stay safe if using.

There is also a strong LGBT Recovery community that offer peer support through groups and social activities. Groups include a monthly Chemsafe group which covers topics such as Sober Sex, Consent, Family & Friends and Online Safety.

REFER TO OUR CHEMSEX SERVICE

REFER TO OUR RECOVERY SERVICE

CHECK OUT OUR RESOURCES

Recovery Programme

odawson — Wed, 02 Aug 2023 14:35:35 +0000

Boost your recovery toolkit and set your own objectives with our individual sessions or connect with our LGBTQ+ recovery community.

For any enquiries or support with making a referral:
Email: recovery@lgbt.foundation | Telephone: 0345 3 30 30 30

“I really think that the support that is offered is amazing and I feel like an ambassador as I am always talking to friends and people about how great the support is and that they should just talk to someone if they are feeling like things are getting out of control. I feel better than I ever have in my recovery.”

Who is this service for?

Our recovery programme is for LGBTQ+ people in Greater Manchester and Liverpool affected by drugs, alcohol and chemsex.

What we can do, together:

Our Recovery Programme is here to ensure that you find your own way to recovery and the relationship that you want with alcohol and drugs.

We are partnered with Change Grow Live in Manchester and various partners in Liverpool and can support you to access mainstream structured and medical support. We believe that there is not just one way to recover and we explore tools from whichever approach you find suits you best.

Think you might need support from us?

Complete our self-referral form today

If you’re a service provider referring a new service user, please use our service-to-service referral form here:

COMPLETE OUR SERVICE-TO-SERVICE REFERRAL FORM

How we can help you

ChemSex support and advice

Our guide to a safe-sesh

Assess your drug and alcohol use

Our Support Groups

SMART Recovery

Join SMART Recovery to manage triggers and boundaries, and stay safe. Use tools and training to change your thoughts, feelings and behaviours in support of your recovery.

ChemSafe

Come together with friendly and non-judgmental people to share advice and experiences around chemsex, empowering each other to reach individual goals – whether that be sober sex or a harm reduction route.

Here and Now

A mutual aid support group for LGBTQ+ people to share their experiences in a safe space and a friendly atmosphere, regardless of where you are in your recovery journey.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR GROUPS

“It’s amazing how much my perspective is changing after just a few sessions. I feel more hopeful, motivated, and most importantly much less alone. Really grateful for this service and community. Everyone has been really lovely.”

Contact us
Email: recovery@lgbt.foundation
Telephone: 0345 3 30 30 30