No Matter What Recovery, a mental health/addiction treatment program focusing on LGBTQIA+ community, has established a free weekly online support group for individuals struggling with chemsex and sexualized drug use, Wednesdays at 4pm PST. log on via Zoom.
-- LOS ANGELES — No Matter What Recovery, a dual-diagnosis substance use and mental health treatment program with a strong focus on the LGBTQIA+ community, has established a free weekly online support group for individuals struggling with chemsex and sexualized drug use.
The recovery-focused meetings will be led by Mell McCracken (they/them), No Matter What Recovery’s National Director of Chemsex and LGBTQ+ Programs and an internationally recognized educator and treatment provider specializing in sexualized drug use. The meetings will be held Wednesdays at 4pm PST, 6pm CST, and are free and open to the public. Here is more information on how to log on via Zoom.
Chemsex refers to the intentional use of drugs in connection with sexual activity, often involving substances such as methamphetamine and GHB/GBL. In recent years, chemsex and sexualized drug use have emerged as significant behavioral and public health concerns, particularly among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (MSM).
“Chemsex has emerged as one of the more challenging issues we encounter when treating members of the LGBTQIA+ community for substance use,” says McCracken. “No Matter What Recovery was an early leader in developing specialized programming in this area, and we recognize the critical role community support can play in long-term recovery. This is a support group rather than a therapy group, so the meetings will be process-oriented and address different topics from week to week. Participants will explore the many dimensions of chemsex while helping one another navigate sexual recovery planning and build healthier, more fulfilling lives in sobriety.”
Research underscores the scope and complexity of the issue: • About 22% of MSM globally have engaged in chemsex, according to a 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis of 238 studies involving 380,505 participants. (Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2025)
• In a US study of 30,294 sexually active MSM, 10.3% reported chemsex-drug use during the previous year. (American Men’s Internet Survey, 2017-2020)
• Among those reporting chemsex-drug use in the US study, 65.1% reported ecstasy/MDMA use, 42.5% crystal methamphetamine use and 21.7% GHB use. (American Men’s Internet Survey, 2017-2020)
• The same study found chemsex-drug use was associated with nearly twice the prevalence of condomless anal sex and nearly twice the prevalence of probable serious mental illness. (American Men’s Internet Survey, 2017-2020)
• A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis found that MSM engaging in chemsex had higher prevalence of condomless sex, group sex, multiple sexual partners, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. The pooled prevalence of recent chemsex among the populations studied was approximately 16%. (Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, 2024)
No Matter What Recovery is a dual-diagnosis substance use and mental health treatment program in Los Angeles, Chicago and coming soon to Austin (opening November 2026) that maintains a strong focus on LGBTQ+ centered care while addressing trauma, family systems and sexualized drug use, commonly referred to as chemsex. Through individual therapy and group processing, its team of master’s-level and certified clinicians works with clients to identify and address the underlying factors that contribute to substance misuse.
In addition to therapeutic approaches including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Internal Family Systems (IFS), clinicians provide psychoeducation on a wide range of mental health and recovery issues. Group programming addresses trauma, relapse prevention, healthy communication, life skills, goal-setting and somatic experiencing. No Matter What Recovery provides a continuum of care ranging from residential and outpatient treatment to transitional living and alumni programming designed to keep individuals connected to a recovery community beyond treatment.
Visit NoMatterWhatRecovery.com for more information or call (323) 792-2948.
Contact Info:
Name: Anthony Grayson
Email: Send Email
Organization: No Matter What Recovery
Address: 3409 W Temple St, Los Angeles, CA 90026, United States
Website: https://nomatterwhatrecovery.com/
Source: PressCable
Release ID: 89203973
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