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Queer-Affirming approaches to Substance Use, Recovery, & Harm Reduction Presented by Carly Novolesky & Patrick Hill A 2-Hour Continuing Education Training for Queer Therapists working with Queer Clients, brought to by the Queer Therapist Network and Queer Sober Therapy Topic: Steering Queer of Addiction Trainers: Carly Novolesky LCPC, CADC (she/her) & Patrick Hill, MA (he/him) Training Session: 1:00-3:00 PM Solidarity Networking Hour: 3:00-4:00 PM Format: This training will be hosted in-person at the Center on Halsted. Queer people’s relationships with substances don’t exist separately from queer identity, community, stigma, sex, belonging, trauma, and survival and effective treatment has to understand those intersections. This interactive training invites clinicians to examine substance use through a queer-affirming, sex-positive, and harm-reduction lens. Participants will explore common clinical pitfalls, the relationship between queer identity and recovery identity, and practical strategies for helping clients develop relationships with substances and recovery that reflect their own goals and values. Through this training, queer therapists will: Identify at least three factors that may influence substance use and recovery experiences within LGBTQIA+ communities. Describe ways stigma and identity can affect substance-use assessment, treatment engagement, and recovery. Unpack how social systems contribute to burn out Differentiate abstinence-based and harm-reduction approaches and identify opportunities to incorporate harm-reduction principles into psychotherapy. Apply queer-affirming strategies to substance-use assessment and treatment planning. This is not 101 training. We assume you're already doing LGBTQ+ affirming work. This is about deepening your practice, caring for yourself, and recognizing that every session where we name injustice, validate impact, and support action is an act of political resistance.

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