Mental health treatment experiences among sexual and gender minority individuals: Trauma exposure, barriers, microaggressions, and treatment satisfaction

Abstract

Introduction

While trauma experiences and treatment-seeking are common among sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals, little is known about their specific experiences in psychotherapy, including treatment types, characteristics (e.g., length, episodes), barriers, satisfaction, and microaggressions.

Method

SGM individuals (N = 2,685) from a national cohort study completed a survey.

Results

The majority (87%) of participants endorsed past therapy, including for trauma (56%). Ratings of therapy barriers and microaggressions were low and satisfaction with therapy was high. However, therapy experiences differed based on sexual orientation, gender, and if the therapy was focused on trauma.

Conclusion

Effective treatments for trauma should be informed by the needs of the diverse groups that comprise the SGM community.

Keywords:

• Trauma
• sexual minority
• gender minority
• psychotherapy

Acknowledgments

The PRIDE Study is a community-engaged research project that serves and is made possible by LGBTQ+ community involvement at multiple points in the research process, including the dissemination of findings. We acknowledge the courage and dedication of The PRIDE Study participants for sharing their stories; the careful attention of PRIDEnet Participant Advisory Committee (PAC) members for reviewing and improving every study application; and the enthusiastic engagement of PRIDEnet Ambassadors and Community Partners for bringing thoughtful perspectives as well as promoting enrollment and disseminating findings. For more information, please visit https://pridestudy.org/pridenet.

Ethics statement

All participants completed informed consent. The study has been approved by the University of California, San Francisco and Stanford University IRBs, and the current primary IRB is the WCG IRB.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Due to ethical restrictions related to sensitive participant information, study data can be made available on request in accordance with certain data access conditions by contacting [email protected].

Additional information

Funding

In accordance with Taylor & Francis policy and our ethical obligations as researchers, we are reporting the following funding sources for the research reported in this paper. Research reported in this article was partially funded through a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute® (PCORI®) Award (#19956-PAVA), the National Institutes of Health (R21MD015878, R21CA237670, OT20D025276), and the National Institute on Drug Abuse and Office of Research on Women’s Health (R01DA052016). The statements in this publication are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Institutes of Health, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute® (PCORI®), its Board of Governors, or Methodology Committee.