Tackling LGBTQ+ youth mental health inequality: Mapping mental health support across the UK

AUTHORS ORIGINAL RESEARCH Tackling LGBTQ+ youth mental health inequality: Mapping mental health support across the UK Young people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/ questioning (LGBTQ+) experience higher rates of mental health distress than reported in the general population, yet are far less likely to seek support services. Factors such as homophobia, biphobia and transphobia, cis-heteronormativity, fear of judgement and lack of sta! awareness of LGBTQ+ identities are barriers to help seeking. This paper reports on the "rst stage of a study that investigated and mapped current LGBTQ+ youth speci"c mental health service provision across the UK. An online and o#ine service mapping exercise was undertaken to locate services. 111 services were identi"ed across the search strategies, the majority in urban settings in England. There were three signi"cant characteristics of LGBTQ+ child and adolescent mental health UK provision. Firstly, there was an absence of mainstream NHS support that speci"cally addressed the needs of LGBTQ+ young people. Secondly, the majority of LGBTQ+ youth mental health support was provided by voluntary/community organisations. Thirdly, there was a rare model of service based on collaborative working between NHS trusts and community/voluntary organisations. The results of this mapping exercise suggest that there is a reliance on the voluntary/community sector to provide mental health provision for LGBTQ+ young people. Furthermore, there was a distinct divergence in the approaches of the support provided by the voluntary/community sector and those from within the NHS. The a$rmation of LGBTQ+ identities that is pivotal to the support provided by voluntary/community services contrasted with the ‘treating everyone the same’ approach prevalent in mainstream service provision. NHS mental health services must recognise that to tackle LGBTQ+ youth mental health inequality, statutory mental health support must address speci"cally the mental health needs of LGBTQ+ young people. Emily M Pattinson University of Newcastle, UK Elizabeth McDermott Lancaster University, UK Rachael Eastham Lancaster University, UK Elizabeth Hughes University of Leeds, UK Katherine Johnson RMIT University, Australia Stephanie Davis University of Brighton, UK Steven Pryjmachuk University of Manchester, UK Olu Jenzen University of Brighton, UK Ceu Mateus Lancaster University, UK Address for Correspondence: Professor Elizabeth McDermott Faculty of Health Medicine University of Lancaster LA1 4YW Email: e.mcdermott@lancaster.ac.uk No con!icts of interest to declare. Accepted for publication: 06.07.21 The British Student Doctor, 2021;5(3):20-29 doi: 10.18573/bsdj.289 Original Research