Addiction in LGBTGEQIAP+ Populations: Ethical, Identity-Affirming, and Trauma-Competent Care for Substance, Behavioral, and Relational Addictions

Presenter: Julia M. Wedemeyer, MA, LPC (OH), NCC, CTP, ISTT

Learning Objectives:

Learners will identify key factors such as minority stress, trauma exposure, identity-based threat and systemic barriers that contribute to substance use concerns and behavioral or process compulsions among LGBTGEQIAP+ individuals.
Learners will differentiate between addiction, compulsion, trauma-shaped regulation and survival responses in presentations involving substance use and related behaviors.
Learners will apply trauma informed and identity affirming frameworks along with minority stress theory and polyvagal informed principles to support ethical assessment and clinical decision making with LGBTGEQIAP+ clients.

CE Credit: 1.5 NBCC Hours; 0 CRCC Hours; 1.5 WA Hours; 0 APT Hours; 1.5 NAADAC Hours; 1.5 NY Hours; 0 Ethics Hours

Julia M. Wedemeyer, MA, LPC (OH), NCC, CTP, ISTT

Julia M. Wedemeyer, MA, LPC (OH), NCC, CTP, ISTT is the founder of InnerVision Resources, LLC, a trauma-responsive private practice providing counseling, consultation, and educational services through a virtual office serving clients across Ohio and a main office in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Ohio and a National Certified Counselor with advanced credentials in Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapy and as a Certified Trauma Professional. With more than 30 years of experience in the counseling field, Julia has worked across clinical, educational, and community-based settings. Her clinical approach integrates EMDR, Somatic EMDR, Applied Polyvagal Theory, Internal Family Systems (IFS)/Parts Work, and other mind–body interventions. Her areas of focus include complex trauma, post-traumatic stress injury, addiction recovery, disordered eating, attachment repair, and relationship concerns. Julia also provides professional development training for clinicians and organizations on trauma-responsive care, nervous system regulation, counselor well-being, and culturally responsive practice. She is an active member of several professional organizations, including the American Counseling Association and the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development, and is currently developing professional resources for clinicians working with complex trauma.