Mental health practitioners should stand in opposition to conversion therapy, webinar hears

Mental health practitioners should “stand firm” in opposing practices of conversion therapy, which could be harmful to LGBT+ people, a webinar on the mental health needs of LGBT+ women heard on Friday.

The webinar, hosted by the Women’s Mental Health Network, discussed the ways mental health services and practitioners can improve awareness and responsiveness to the diverse mental health needs of LGBT+ women.

Speaking at the event, Moninne Griffith, chief executive of BeLonGTo – the national organisation supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex young people in Ireland – said it was important for mental health practitioners to stand firm in opposing practices of conversion therapy which could be harmful to LGBT+ people.

Those working in the provision of mental health services for LGBT+ people should learn open and inclusive language and take care to use peoples’ correct pronouns, she said.

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“We as LGBT+ people can call for change but we need allies... to stand up with us in solidarity when there are changes that need to happen. As professionals, it’s about educating yourself and others in your profession.”

A range of issues facing LGBT+ people when attempting to access mental and physical health supports were discussed at the event.

Lilith Ferreyra-Carroll, national community development officer for the Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI) highlighted that the process transgender people must go through to access healthcare in the State can often be lengthy and stigmatising for some.

Trans people were “being denied their bodily autonomy” as a result of lengthy waiting lists and “stigmatising” psychiatric assessments.

A diagnosis of gender dysphoria or gender identity disorder by a psychiatrist or a clinical psychologist is a prerequisite to starting hormone suppressants in Ireland.

For those aged under 17-years-old, there is currently no healthcare available since London’s Tavistock clinic ceased offering a gender identity adolescent service at Crumlin hospital a year ago.

“They’re being told – you’re too anxious, too depressed... You have to be this perfect, model trans person when really what should be happening is your healthcare, hormones and surgery need to be taken care of, and your mental healthcare should be something that complements that, not something that’s a barrier to accessing services,” Ms Ferreyra-Carroll said.

The current model of care was pathologising of trans people, she said.

Transgender people are at substantially higher risk of negative mental health than the general population over the course of their lifetime, with stress (83 per cent) and depression (82 per cent) most commonly identified, according to a report by TENI.

Of those surveyed who accessed mental health services, 69 per cent reported having had at least one negative experience in doing so. Only 27 per cent felt able to be completely open with mental health professionals about being trans or having a trans history.

While being trans may be a factor in the need for mental healthcare, being trans is part of who a person is and is not a mental illness itself, Ms Ferreyra-Carroll told the webinar.

The webinar heard that it was important women in the LGBT+ community had access to mental health services in which they felt respected and safe.