Inequality = Seeking support from the community
LGBTI people seeking mental health support face additional barriers in coming forward. Some mental health professionals lack knowledge or understanding, or assume someone’s gender or sexual orientation, as this account explains:
“When I go to see a new mental health professional, they assume that I am straight, they assume that I am cisgender… and the assumptions mean that you are forced into a situation between deciding that it’s safe to come out, or it’s not safe to come out. Now, if you decide it’s safe to come out, then you are putting yourself out there. If you decide it is not safe to come out there, your relationship with that mental health professional is compromised”.
Poor experiences within mainstream mental health or other services can lead to distrust of these services. This means that LGBTI people may wait until crisis point to reach out, or they may rely on more informal and social networks of support to keep them afloat.
Community LGBTI groups can act as a lifeline. Simply knowing someone is there, or having a social connection, makes a huge difference in people’s lives.
“If there had been even the slightest hint that someone in the building knew about LGBT issues, I would have come out years before instead of waiting until… I reached crisis point”.
“For me, a community is a safety net. In whatever form your community might be, without it, people lose their sense of identity. We all need people around us who share our ideas and motivations. Even in the loneliest of times, being able to reach out to someone in your community can be a lifeline”.
Supporting people with their mental health can seem daunting without the formal training of a mental health professional. It can be hard to know what to say, and how to help. It is ok to feel this way, and it may not always be possible to say the right thing. But you can make a difference, and there are approaches and language that we can use to create an open, positive, and empowering atmosphere in which people feel confident to talk about their mental health.
Footnotes
- Alliance, See Me and LGBT Health and Wellbeing, ‘A National Conversation on Mental Health: Community Discussion’ (podcast). [Accessed 08/05/2021] (Return to reference [16])
- Tyler-Greig, R. (2020) LGBT Health and Wellbeing, ‘National Conversation on LGBT Mental Health’ (PDF). [Accessed 14/05/2021](Return to reference [17])
- See Me, ‘Communities Can: A Toolkit For Tackling Mental Health Stigma’ (PDF). (Return to reference [18])
