Perceived Satisfaction with Mental Health Services in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Transsexual Communities in Ontario

Lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals are more likely to experience mental health disorders, which leads them to access services more frequently in North America. Although few quantitative data are available regarding the mental health service utilization experiences of transgender and transsexual people, qualitative evidence suggests these communities experience barriers to accessing supportive mental health care. The objectives of this study were to: 1) compare perceived satisfaction of mental health services for LGBT and cis-gender heterosexual people in Ontario, 2) to ascertain what types of negative experiences LGBT people report associated with their service use, and 3) to explore differences in the experiences of those accessing public versus private mental health care. Using an internet-based survey administered over 5 months, we collected mental health service utilization data from 62 cis-gender heterosexuals and 278 LGBT participants. The sample was mostly under the age of 25, White, living in the Toronto area and having suffered from or received a diagnosis of a mood disorder. Contrary to our hypothesis, we found no significant difference in satisfaction between LGBT people and cis-gender heterosexuals (x²=0.128, p=0.721): approximately 80% of the sample was satisfied with the provider they saw most in the last year. Degree of satisfaction was not associated with whether the service accessed was privately or publically funded. However, 33.7% of the LGBT sample reported stopping the use of mental health services in the past due to discriminatory experiences, and trans individuals were 2.6 times more likely than cis-gender individuals to report this. Furthermore, over half of the LGBT sample reported an unmet need for mental health care in the past 12 months. These data suggest that although many LGBT people in Ontario are satisfied with the mental health care they receive, discriminatory experiences are common, and many in our communities remain without needed care.