Research Study

For transgender people who drink alcohol or have used drugs

(PI: Arryn A. Guy, PhD; study protocol # IRB-2025-3)

Investigators from Illinois Tech are testing a new mutual-help group called “the TLC program” for transgender folks who use substances or are recently in recovery. The TLC Program is based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy or “ACT” which is a type of mental health counseling that focuses on using mindfulness skills to connect a person to their values and improve their mental health.

The TLC Program was developed by transgender and gender diverse community members, mental health providers, and researchers. We performed an initial test of the program with 16 transgender adults. Now we’re ready to test the TLC Program compared to the current standard of care.