Discrimination against LGBTQ+ mental health practitioners

I am writing about a small survey, exploring discrimination faced by frontline mental health professionals. I am a mental health Social Worker in the NHS. The research study is being undertaken as part of my MA in Social Work Practice with the University of York. The study specifically aims to understand the experiences of racial, LGBTQ and gender-based discrimination from service users and their families towards mental health practitioners.

The term discrimination is a strong one. In our roles as care providers, we might have come across or heard of incidents in which service users have expressed discriminatory attitudes towards staff. Sometimes the act of discrimination might have been subtle and not directly expressed in words.

Perhaps a request to change care coordinators with no explanation offered as to why they do not want to work with you. At times the act of discrimination may be less subtle and may include verbal or physical attacks or hate speech. Some of you may have faced discrimination as a result of the SARS CoV-2/Covid -19 pandemic.

About the study

The study comprises a short online national survey. All frontline mental health practitioners in the UK are invited to participate. This includes psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, occupational therapists, Social Workers, support workers or anyone that is a frontline mental health worker. The survey is open to those working in the NHS, Local Authority and Voluntary sector.

Survey Link: Mental Health practitioners’ experiences of discrimination

Participation in the study is completely voluntary. All survey data will be anonymous at the point of submission and kept strictly confidential.

Neha Lamech

Mental Health Social Worker &
Student MA Social Work at University of York

Twitter: @dotmocha