Mental Health Issues Paper

When it comes to mental health service learning how to access services can be difficult for any population. Under the mental health umbrella there are several levels of services that a person can receive. Also within in those different levels there are people who specialize in different issues. People need to be aware of obstacles that they could face when trying to access mental health services and that it may take some time before a person receives the appropriate treatment for this case. This paper will provide an overview on the obstacles that members of the LGBT community face when trying to access needed mental health services.
Mental illness has become a prevalent issue amongst the LGBT community. Several studies have shown that gay

men, lesbians and bisexuals appear to have higher rates of some mental diagnoses in comparison to heterosexuals (DeAngelis). There are many contributing factors that may influence the high rates of mental disorders. There are higher rates of recurrent major depression amongst gay men along with higher rates of anxiety, mood, and substance use disorder, and suicidal thoughts among people ages fifteen to fifty-four with same sex-partners (DeAngelis). This research documents the prevalence of mental disorder in the LGBT community, and it also shows the need for access to mental health services for this population.
Though more therapists and psychiatrists now have positive attitudes toward the LGBT community, people still face disproportioned care due to a deficiency of education and knowledge. Fortunately, there have been enormous steps made in the past thirty-five years since the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (NAMI). Despite this, there are still disparities and disproportioned treatment among LGBT groups seeking care. Gay men and lesbians were often exposed to treatment against their willpower, including cruel hospitalizations. In the 1950s and 60s, many psychiatrists believed that homosexuality, as well as bisexuality, was a mental disease (NAMI). Health care providers still do not always have current knowledge of the unparalleled needs of the LGBT community or education on LGBT mental health issues. The past of mental health treatment of LGBT populations is an uneasy one. Providers who fault wisdom and experience working with members of the LGBT community may focalize more on a one’s sexual orientation and gender identity than a one’s mental health condition (NAMI).
Qualitative analysis of participant interviews revealed issues related to barriers to adequate health care including transportation difficulties, lack of health care options and gay-affirming providers, as well as isolation and inadequate social connections and a lack of belongingness as an aging sexual minority within a rural community (Barefoot, K.

N, et. al, 2015). Aspects of rural living can produce challenges and vulnerabilities for lesbians who create their households there, which can produce unequaled considerations for mental health providers practicing in rural areas. In a sample of aging LGBT individuals residing in rural areas, King and Dabelko-Schoeny (2009) examined participants’ perceptions of the feasibility of aging-in-place as a sexual minority in a rural community. Additionally, it is essential for rural mental health care providers to be informed of the unique origin of social support and health care that aging rural lesbians may depend on and foster these connections and sources of coping and

support.
Some of the inadequately addressed challenges of the community related to mental health encompass the separation of older LGBT community members, a high degree of alcohol and substance use, a moderate standard of preventive health care accessibility for lesbians and among persons of transgender encounter a high predominance of mental health issues, including suicide (Bennett and Douglass, 2013).

As society grow less homophobic and heterosexist, the LGBT community can appear to perceive that environmental support exists for their psychosocial advancement in sudden ways. For instance, one study of 6540 transgender individuals found that 28% of participants had experienced verbal harassment in a doctor’s office and 19% describe being refused medical care altogether for of their transgender status (Rutherford, et. al, 2012). This discontentment may be related to experiences of judgment in the context of care. There is evidence that implies that the poor mental health outcomes observed in LGBT communities are combined with the pressure of having a stigmatized individuality, experiences and expectations of judgment, and living in a homophobic or heterosexist community (Rutherford, et. al,2012). This would be anticipate in the context of these high rates of need, gay and lesbian individuals are also more likely than their heterosexual equals to consume mental health services. Although there are high rates of service utilization, at least one study has found that sexual

minorities relate higher levels of discontentment with mental health services than do heterosexuals (Rutherford, et. al, 2012). The high rates of dissatisfaction in service could be related to the face that the individual does not feel comfortable in the setting of the clinical provider. In addition to experiences of discrimination, study participants portray momentous gaps in the knowledge of their health care providers and half of the participating group members described having to guide their providers throughout some aspect of their health needs as transgender individuals (Rutherford, et. al, 2012).
Canadian research has examined primarily at distinguishing barriers for LGBT community; closely paying attention to the issue of accessibility to hospital based and community based primary health care (McIntyre, et. al, 2011). There has been an emphasizes that two of the most important barriers facing LGBT communities are poor training of mental health care professionals because of lack of funding and oppression. A study around mental health services barriers to Ontario mental health services denoted that often people are not always confident where to go for services and are not satisfy that services will be helpful (McIntyre, et. al, 2011). Currently exploration in this scope has centered on identifying provider level barriers to mental health care for LGBT community, including provider lack of enlightenment about LGBT precise issues, and downright discrimination. For people identifying as bisexual and/or transgender, barriers to services may be enhanced due to an overall lack of knowledge and education touching bisexuality and transgender, judgments being imposed upon them by health care providers, their experiences of lack of support approval from lesbian and gay communities (McIntyre, et. al, 2011). For instance, bisexual women who have been out as lesbians to their physicians have describe sensation of awkwardness and anxiousness about asking for birth control or safer sex advice with men.