WHAT ARE BARRIERS TO QUEER PEOPLE RECEIVING MENTAL HEALTHCARE?
What The Queer Community Is Saying
Money. The mental health care that I have access to through my insurance is not at all trans competent, let alone polyam, kink, etc. competent. If I want a therapist who is actually capable of treating me, I would have to pay out of pocket, which just isn't possible.
I've also had an experience that I feel is common for queer and trans folks, especially when seeking care for trauma: I've seen so many therapists who didn't work, and those experiences were so dehumanizing, that the idea of trying to do that again and re-entering the revolving door of incompatible therapists is absolutely exhausting, and the task of seeking therapy is now itself a source of anxiety and trauma.
Linden Curhart
...therapy is often inaccessible because of the high costs, especially since insurance companies suck ass and will only insure therapists if they feel there is a “need” for them to be insured.
I low key also think that some therapeutic techniques can be gaslight-y in nature, especially when used by therapists who don’t understand the specific struggles the LGBT community faces
Solution: get rid of capitalism for sure, and tbh provide more nuance for therapists who like to use CBT. Looking at systems is WAY more valuable for clients than just reframing
Lydia Ramharack
Medical trauma. I've been mistreated by doctors so often, and I am so used to doctors not knowing how to treat me, that I just... don't bother for most things.
Inaccessibility: if a place is providing mental health support, but can only make appointments over the phone, then it's gonna take me an extra month to build up the energy to call, and I know so many people who just don't make it past that step.
mz
It’s all been said. People actually have to value queer lives. And I mean value first before putting value in a human life. All White Supremacist systems have to end and rebuilt into systems of equity. Until then we need to be “profitable” for the current healthcare system to give a damn. But we’re only profitable for 1 month out of the year, not a great investment. Until then it seems like getting Queer BIPOC into as many leadership systems and levels of govt who can change policy.
Then we can talk about real value in human lives, and queer ones.