Sexual Orientation, Mental Health Characteristics, and Self-Care in Professional Psychology Training and Employment

Abstract

Although self-care practice is critical for mental healthcare professionals (MHP) to buffer against the impact of stressors and to prevent psychiatric symptoms and functional impairment, effective self-care may be more difficult for those at greater risk of developing mental health conditions due to sexual minority stress. The present study aimed to examine mental health characteristics, engagement in, and value obtained from self-care, and perceptions about training programs’ encouragement of self-care in trainees and professionals of different sexual orientations. Data were collected from MHP trainees and practitioners (n = 547) using an anonymous online survey including measures assessing stress, depression, anxiety, resilience, coping self-efficacy, and self-care strategy usage. Analyses revealed that bisexual individuals reported significantly greater mental health symptoms and self-care strategy usage as compared to heterosexual and gay/lesbian participants. Analyses also revealed lower levels of daily functioning and resilience in bisexual vs. heterosexual or gay/lesbian participants, and that bisexual participants reported obtaining less value from self-care practices than other subgroups. These results suggest that bisexual individuals may experience a unique set of minority stressors which affect their engagement with and benefit from self-care. Implications and suggestions for promoting inclusiveness and positive alterations in self-care engagement in training programs and professional institutions are discussed, including engendering coping self-efficacy through individual skill development, nurturing environments that reinforce self-care, ensuring access to culturally competent services, and promoting engagement in supportive groups and organizations.

Keywords:

• Minority stress
• sexual orientation
• mental health
• professional self-care
• resilience

Data availability statement

This study was not preregistered. Data may be requested from the anchor author.

Notes

1 The present study has defined bisexuality as multigender attraction and/or sexual behavior coupled with explicit bisexual self-identification, heterosexuality as opposite-sex attraction and/or sexual behavior coupled with explicit heterosexual self-identification, and gay or lesbian as same-sex attraction and/or sexual behavior coupled with explicit gay or lesbian self-identification (Ross et al., 2018).

2 None in the gay/lesbian or bisexual groups reported gender identities other than cisgender man or woman.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Malena Gimenez-Zapiola

Malena Gimenez-Zapiola, M.A., graduated from the University of Houston – Clear Lake with a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology. She completed clinical practicum training at the Montrose Center, where she provided psychological services to LGBTQIA2S + individuals experiencing psychopathology and distress. Her research interests focus on the unique needs and experiences of those belonging to underserved populations, such as Veterans, people with uncontrolled HIV, and LGBTQIA2S + individuals.

Bailey Pascuzzi

Bailey Pascuzzi, M.A., graduated from the University of Houston – Clear Lake with a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology. Her research interests focus on the training and education of mental health professionals specifically with treating personality disorders.

Shivani Bathla

Shivani Bathla, M.A., graduated from the University of Houston – Clear Lake with a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology. During a clinical practicum at the Harris County Juvenile Detention Center, she trained in providing mental health support to adolescents – each whom presented with a unique intersection of identities and associated distress. Her research interests include examining the effects of cultural and social contextual factors such as parenting, peers, and larger systems of influence (i.e., community, discrimination) on mental health outcomes.

Tarryn Pollard

Tarryn Pollard, M.A., graduated from the University of Houston – Clear Lake with a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology. They have completed clinical practica at the Houston Montrose Center and the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) Online Sexual Assault Crisis Hotline, providing psychological and crisis management services with focus on LGBTQIA2S + individuals. They also have in experience in multiple research laboratories and have published several times. Their research interests focus on exploring population-specific underpinning factors for mood & anxiety disorders within the LGBTQIA2+ population and creating novel treatment delivery methods to increase accessibility of mental health treatment to underserved populations.

G. Thomas Schanding

G. Thomas Schanding, Jr, Ph.D., is a Registered Psychologist and an Associate Professor the University of British Columbia. His primary research interests are social and emotional learning and experiences of sexual minority individuals in schools.

Steven L. Bistricky

Steven L. Bistricky, Ph.D., received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Kansas, completed his clinical internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco, and serves as a faculty member in the Clinical Psychology M.A. and Ph.D. programs at the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs. His research, teaching, and clinical supervision focus on adversity, trauma, resilience, and recovery processes. In each role, he aims to increase understanding and support of historically oppressed and marginalized communities.