When it came time to start my research for this blog, it took me a while to finally decide on a topic. This is because viewing mental health from a queer perspective isn’t just something I am doing for class, because I am someone on the queer spectrum with a mental disability. These aren’t just theoretical for me; they affect me, my friends and my community. There are so many issues, that I decided to discuss the overall issue of self-disclosure in the mental health system.
Queers have had a long and somewhat confrontational relationship with mental health. Since the birth of psychiatry in the late nineteenth century, until 1973 for the American Psychological Association, and 1991 for the World Health Organization, homosexuality was considered a mental disorder. (Murphy, 1997) I have long thought of myself as crazy, but not for being attracted to women. It is easy for me to understand how this could make people reluctant to seek help from institutions.
As Daley (2010) says, “…Stein and Bonuck’s (2001) comparative study of disclosure between lesbian and heterosexual women indicate that the assumption of heterosexuality often means that women are required to initiate discussions about sexual identity/orientation and the disclosure process during their interactions with service providers.” I have run into this myself. The questions go through your head of “How do I bring this up?”, “Do I have to bring it up?”, “What if they (the service provider) have a problem with this?”, “Will I have to start all over again with someone new?” It seems to me that all these extra doubts can exacerbate already serious mental health issues. It is very important, as students going into social work, we remember that not everyone is heterosexual, and try to make help with mental illnesses as accessible as possible.
References
Daley, Andrea (2010) ‘Being Recognized, Accepted, and Affirmed: Self-Disclosure of
Lesbian/Queer Sexuality Within Psychiatric and Mental Health Service Settings’, Social
Work in Mental Health, 8: 4, 336 - 355
Murphy, T.F. (1997). Gay science: The ethics of sexual orientation research. New York:
Columbia University Press
Simkin, R. (1992, Spring/Summer). Lesbians face unique health care problems. Health Sharing,
40-42
Stein, G.L., & Bonuck, K.A. (2001). Physician-patient relationships among the lesbian and gay
Community. Journal of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, 5, 87 - 93
Stacey T.
Stacey T.
I just want to say props to you for being able to write on here so openly that you are, in fact, part of the queer community. It must take a lot of courage to admit something like that, considering how judgmental people can be. Good job on this blog.
ReplyDelete-Amanda P.
Stacy, I think you raised a lot of good points in this blog. I appreciated the thought you put into this and I commend you for your honesty. I agree that as social workers we need to put aside our own opinions and values, and I can say that from talking with you my views on the Queer community have changed for the better. You are a brave girl and I hope you know that you are making a difference. I feel saddened that in certain situations you don't feel like you can fully disclose who you are because you are afraid help will be withdrawn. Your words will carry on with me as I begin a career in social work and just know that I will not judge someone who's been in your shoes.
ReplyDeleteTara Purvis
Thanks so much for the blog Stacey, it is really enlightening to hear from someone who can identify with exactly what they are discussing. People should not assume the sexual orientation of another person, for numerous reasons. I can't imagine having to live with the additional stress of worrying how, or when to bring something up, that really isn't relevant or anyone else business. Especially when knowing it could affect your ability to access something you need. Part of who you are should never be something that could prevent you from being treated equally.
ReplyDelete-Eliza R.
That’s very courageous of you to talk about your sexuality so openly, it is much more intimate and genuine to touch on topics when people can relate. I think it gives a much better understanding about the ignorance many people have but care to realize towards people of minority. It must have been difficult to express yourself freely with this topic but its helps me realize some of the struggles many people of the homosexual community tend to face daily.
ReplyDeleteAutumn B.
I think it is amazing that you are so comfortable with yourself and able to be honest about it! I know that being queer use to be considered a mental illness, but was then changed and not considered a mental illness. I don't think it is fair that queer people have to deal with all the judgement and comments that others seem to constantly make. I do, however, believe that all the comments and bullying people do to others does take a mental tole on each individual and can cause mental issues such as a lower self-esteem. I really enjoyed your blog!
ReplyDelete-Brettany G.
Thanks for this post Stacey. You are a very brave, courageous women, I give you props for being so open and honest about your sexuality. I really liked your point about how homosexuality was considered a mental disorder in the past, and how this could make seeking help from institutions not look so good. I come from a very small Mennonite community, and have been apart of a community that does believe that everyone is heterosexual. So I really took your last sentence to heart, and will do my best to help the people around me to accept that there are other sexualities other than heterosexual as well.
ReplyDeleteAlyssa V
This is a truly amazing post. You are so honest and brave Stacey. I really appreciate that you were open to using your own life in your blog. When I was doing some research for one of my blogs, I found some similar information to what you incorporated. It is ridiculous that people who are not heterosexual were ever regarded as having mental disorders for this reason only. Everyone has the right to love who they want to love, and no one can help who they are attracted to. There is nothing wrong with having any one sexual orientation. Another very unfortunate point is that LGBT people very often face a lot of violence, particularly teenagers in middle-school and high school.
ReplyDelete-Marina R