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Published: September 3, 2024 by mbelfield
The “LGBTQ+ Positive Practice Guide” (LGBTQ+ PPG) project started in March 2023, under the management of Emine Akkunt (She/Her), LGBT Foundation – Talking Therapies Programme Manager. Since then, LGBT Foundation have been working closely with NHS England (Talking Therapies for Anxiety and Depression), and authors Professor Allán Laville (he/him) and Sarah Beattie (she/her). The aim was to provide a resource for therapists who work with LGBTQ+ people within Talking Therapies services, to improve cultural competency and inclusivity.
The creation of this guide began with a nationwide survey to gather information from practitioners, to establish what they required from the guide and needed further support on when working with LGBTQ+ people. Over 200 responses were received, which provided the information needed to start the guide.
As the guide was developing, focus groups were conducted with both practitioners within Talking Therapies services and LGBTQ+ experts by experience who have received support from a Talking Therapies service, to provide feedback on the content of this guide. Additionally, different services were contacted to provide case studies of best practices to include in the guide. Over 250 experts were involved in providing feedback at different stages of the production and 13 case studies of best practice was provided to include in the guide.
This PPG outlines existing evidence and guidance and provides practical recommendations for supporting the LGBTQ+ community. The recommendations address how services and practitioners can reduce barriers that LGBTQ+ people may face when accessing Talking Therapies, the importance of recording and monitoring data and how to ensure clinical practice is inclusive. Thirteen case studies have been incorporated into the guide to highlight positive practices that has been implemented in a variety of services across the UK.
This guide is designed to be used by Talking Therapies services to advance their practice to improve LGBTQ+ people’s experiences and outcomes of psychological therapy. A helpful ‘bite-sized’ guide has also been developed to summarise the PPG recommendations, which can be used with the full version of the LGBTQ+ PPG.
Although the target audience for the guide is NHS Talking Therapies services, the content can be used by any “Mental Health” and “Health and Social Care” practitioners, along with the commissioners that fund services to LGBTQ+ individuals.
The guide and the PPG can be found on our website, along with the webinar recording, where the PPG was introduced to NHS Talking Therapies services.
We also encourage any questions about this guide to be forwarded to therapy@lgbt.foundation
