MINDING QUEER YOUNG HEADS The mental well being of gay, bisexual and transgendered young men From Lo

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MINDING QUEER YOUNG HEADSThe mental well
being of gay, bisexual and transgendered young
menFrom Locale To The KingdomThe United
KingdomNational LGBT Mental Well Being Strategy
2005-2008David Farringtondfarrington_at_lgbtconso
rtium.org.uk
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The Numbers Bits.
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The London Experiences
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MAJOR THEMES Lack of Support Bullying at
school Poor Family/Parent Relationships Too
Early-Late Coming Out Above National
International Averages
Wallace, 2005, The Metro Center
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The Northern Irish Experiences
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MAJOR THEMES Lonliness Isolation Bullying at
School Poor Family Reaction Percentages much
higher than National International averages
McNamee, 2006 The Rainbow Project
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The North English Experiences
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MAJOR THEMES RURAL VULNERABILITIES Well exceed
National and International averages
Bridget, 2005 GALYIC
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The Scottish Experiences
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MAJOR THEMES Sexual Orientation Depression
Relationship difficulties Difficulties with
family Suicide rate is 5x s National Average SH
rate is 5-11xs National Average
Hutchison, Porter De Voil LGBT Youth Scotland
Gay Mens Health, Edinburgh 2003
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The Realities Bits.
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Key Mental Health Issues

• Sexuality pathologised or Coming Out misdiagnosed
  for clinical conditions i.e. personality
  disorders casuality confused
• Depression then anxiety most common. Link to
  suicide and drug use.
• Eating problems, body image and substance abuse
• Medication concerns over socio-cultural responses
• Suicide Clusters/Predictors - Coming Out
  (early), Lack of support, Bullying and Family
  Rejection,
• Bullying PTSD, academic-schooling failure, life
  dislocation, self harming suicide
• Self harm broader notions, gendered, critical
  responses, later coming out
• Chronic stress constant identity management
  pressures of young queer life
• Interactions with multi homophobic experiences
  in work and education
• Young experiences of hate crime
• T and B vulnerabilities lack of culture ,
  identity support

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Social Model of Mental Health Homo-Bi-Transphobia
Heterosexism

• Most issues culturally induced by chronic
  homophobia and heterosexism. These stressors also
  enhances other risk factors combined with
  reducing protective factors
• HP impacts early regardless of sexuality identity
  i.e. reinforced stereotypical masculinity,
  disrupts healthy identity formation, internalises
  negative self meaning identity
• Amplified by lack of positive identity support,
  peers and friends, family support, peer and
  cultural isolation at critical development
  periods
• Media and LGBT media body image, life
  sexualisation, stereotyping options
• Multiple social, cultural environmental and
  biological interactions

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The Service Universe

• Unaware untrained
• Assumption of heterosexuality /lack of
  understanding of sexuality
• Experiences of discrimination and prejudice
  across all services - health, social services,
  hospital etc
• Stigma of mental health services is major access
  barrier. Understand mental health identity
  issues
• The LGBT youth group was a major positive factor
  and was highly used Queer culture
• Connection to LGBT culture (but not necc the
  Scene) is highly protective
• If services are obviously LGBT friendly,
  understand sexuality issues and LGBT culture,
  non-assuming and have good links to LGBT services
  things rapidly improve

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The Future Bits.
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Positive Mental Health

• Absence of negative mental health staying
  mentally healthy
• Strength to adapt deal with stress, challenge
  change
• A revolutionary shift in approach thinking
  about mental health (funding too!)

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Positive Mental Health

• Works great with participation and links to
  broader GBT health promotion community
  development strategies
• Do we focus too much on negative mental health in
  sexual identity work ?
• How will GBT young men interpret embrace the
  notion of positive mental health and drive mental
  health awareness ?

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Resiliency If you can keep your head about
you when all are losing theirs Kipling

• The Bounce-Back factor.Preventing, minimising
  and actually growing from adversity or the risk
  factors
• Protective factors that support resiliency -
  successful risk taking experiences, family
  environment, deep friendships, good self esteem

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Resiliency

• Resiliency is unknown in GBT young men.
  Negotiating a bi-trans-homophobic world is
  constant with accumulating risks factors
  limited life experiences
• How do young men survive, adapt and positively
  grow from experiences of homophobia, biphobia and
  heterosexism as many DO !?
• How resilient are young GBT men ?! How is this
  increased ?

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BUT

• Resiliency and coping doesnt address causes
• Too focused on the individual needs the
  social
• Get tougher with less services

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Coping

• Adaptive skills and strategies to stress,
  challenges and transitions
• Learning the SKILLS to developing maintaining
  resilience

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Coping

• Challenge dominant views of GBT young men as
  chaotic, crisis prone and highly at risk
• Young GBT men have much on side legislation,
  groups, developed culture, technologies how are
  these used ?

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Coping

• Emotionally literacy or emotional intelligence
  (EI)
• Links between EI, developing coping skills
  resilience especially in children school-age
  young GBT men
• EI is very fashionable, rationality dominated
  like CBT, needs serious critical examination for
  sexuality GBT work

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Peer EducationA National Approach

• Understand the resiliency, positive mental
  health coping strategies of GBT young men and
  weave these into peer education programmes with
  young GBT men driving this process thru
  volunteering this includes simple mental health
  awareness identity inclusiveness

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National Examples Positive Mental Well Being

• Top Ten Tips for Being Healthily Queer Positive
  mental well being
• LGBT Consortium, Young Minds and Youth_at_EUROPRIDE
  2006
• youngminds.org.uk kathryn.pugh_at_youngminds.org.uk
  lgbtconsortium.org.uk dfarrington_at_lgbtconsortium.o
  rg.uk k
• SUSHI FOR THREE Omega 3 and healthy minds
• LGBT Consortium, Young Minds Youth_at_Europride
  2006
• youngminds.org.uk lgbtconsortium.org.uk
  dfarrington_at_lgbtconsortium.org.uk
• World Mental Health Day Triathalon Sport,
  exercise and mental wellbeing
• Manchester LGBT Youth Northwest
  www.lgbtyouthnorthwest.org.uk
• (Sally Carr) lgbtyouthnorthwest_at_yahoo.co.uk
• LGBT Youth Mental Health Need Assessment Tool -
  A comprehensive, professional quality
  integrated social/health/mental health need
  assessment and care planning tool
• GALYIC www.galyic.org.uk jan_at_galyic.org.uk
• Mental health promotion outreach - Innovative
  outreach strategies to young LGBT people
• at risk of suicide and distress
• LGBT Youth Scotland www.lgbtyouth.org.uk
  daniel.winstanley_at_lgbtyouth.org.uk

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Macro Priorities Areas 4 A National (L)GBT Mental
Wellbeing Strategy

• Work with Much Younger Ages, Families and Parents
• Diversities Across GBT Their Synergies
• A Focus on Cultural and Social Strategies to
  Mental Well Being
• A Prevention, Resiliency and Positive Mental
  Health Platform
• Challenging Stigma in GBT Communities and GBT
  Young Peoples Services
• GBT Young People Participation and Peer Education
  Driven
• A Cultural Development for Young LGBT People
  Priority (for MHP to work)
• Integration of Clinical, Mental Health Promotion
  and Specialist Services towards the impacts of
  Homophobia and Heterosexism across all Life
  Settings and Ages
• Explore Powerful Trans-Cultural United Kingdom
  and EU Synergies
• Proactive GBT and Male Diversity Media Strategy
• Explore Common Ground to Men Health and the MH
  Experiences of All Men
• Realise the Context of Current Voluntary Sector
  Policy Shifts i.e. Childrens Trusts, Young Minds
  National work, National Parenting Consortia
  (PACE)

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Maleness, Gender and Identity

• Globalisation, competition conformity and its
  cultural change is stressing dividing ties
  between all men. Identities around gender are
  diversifying in young people especially.
• Identity role change and its stress is a
  common and shared experience. All men share
  increasing work pressures, lifebalance, similar
  barriers to help seeking and declining social
  support networks.
• Men of different sexualities/identities can
  support each other in a peer way. Share different
  experiences of negotiating being male that are
  collectively positive for our mental physical
  health

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Mens Health and the LGBT Sector A Lot in
Common

• Men universally experience being male this
  experience is increasingly diverse. Actualising
  this diversity in an increasingly conformist
  world can be stressfull.
• Homophobia affects all young men/boys, policing
  masculinity and negatively affecting their future
  mental well being is subtle, long term ways
• Men have many different and fluid expressions of
  sexuality and masculinities across life. Many of
  these men experience mental health issues. All
  men have unique but still gendered mental well
  being needs. GBT men, like all men, experience
  issues in relationships, communication and
  intimacy, fathering, self worth, ageing and
  gender conformity.
• Dads with children of different sexualities have
  information and support needs currently unmet, as
  are gay, trans or bi Dads themselves i.e
  YoungMinds parent info service. Exiting ground
  for creative new services.
• All men boys need a sense of community and
  social capital based around what it means being a
  male of any age in the new millennium