Mental Health Professionals’ Gender-Sensitivity and Responsiveness to the Genderqueer population in Substance Use Disorder Treatment: A Systematic Review
- Authors: Maseko, Moosa Lorenzo
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Gender nonconformity , Substance abuse , Mental health personnel , Gender-nonconforming people Counseling of , Discrimination in mental health services , Joanna Briggs Institute’s systematic review method
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/190133 , vital:44966
- Description: Background: The prevalence of Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) amongst the genderqueer population is a huge concern in the public mental health system. The genderqueer population’s help-seeking barriers have been attributed to SUD treatment centre’s questionable ability to be responsive to the unique mental health needs of genderqueer individuals. Aim: The aim of this study is to conduct a systematic review on mental healthcare workers‟ responsiveness and gender-sensitivity towards the genderqueer population in SUD treatment centres. Methods: Employing the Joanna Briggs Institute’s (JBIs) systematic review method, 25 qualitative articles were included in this study. A thematic analysis was used to examine the data. Results: The analysis revealed that SUD treatment centres are experienced as discriminatory and unreceptive by the genderqueer population due to several barriers. The barriers identified were structural, financial, personal, cultural and the use of a heterosexual framework to treat SUD which led to abuse, isolation, and stigma. Mental healthcare providers lack skills in working with genderqueer individuals as well as a lack of knowledge on genderqueer related needs. Lack of gender sensitivity affects genderqueer individuals in accessing SUD treatment centres and the progress they make. This magnified the need and importance of specialised gender-responsive and gender-sensitive training in working with genderqueer individuals. Twelve interventions to address the areas of difficulty were identified. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2021
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- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
The influence of institutionalised regulations on the emotional wellbeing of non-traditional gender identifying tertiary graduates
- Authors: Lubbe, Maritza
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Gender nonconformity , Transgender people -- Identity Transgender people Transgender youth -- Identity Developmental psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/40544 , vital:36181
- Description: Trans* experiences have been and are currently still understood within systems that are inherently heteronormatively inclined and which has produced a system that is ideologically driven by the gender binary. Consequently, societies are not designed to accommodate everyone equally, thus forcing non-traditional gender identifying individuals to grapple and adapt to this sometimes seemingly ignorant world. This grappling and adaptation takes various different forms for different people, and thus it is expected that this would elicit a variety of different consequences for emotional wellbeing. One of the formal institutions that has shown sluggish transformation in terms of gender-based transformation is tertiary educational institutions. Here traditional binaries are rooted everywhere from application form information to bathroom use on campus. This study explored the influence living and working in higher educational institutions have had on the emotional wellbeing of Trans* individuals, who have graduated. Along with an acknowledgement of the inherent complexity of gender identity, Trans* in the context of this study can be understood as shorthand used to refer to individuals who identify as transgender, transsexual, and/or gender non-conforming. This exploration was embarked upon through a qualitative research enquiry into the lived realities of Trans* graduates. Instead of a focus on current Trans* students, this study drew on its sample through gender organisations to recruit participants who are recent graduates and openly identify as Trans*. It was deemed appropriate given that graduates may be able to reflect on their overall tertiary experience. Findings indicated that Trans* graduates experienced significantly lowered levels of emotional wellbeing, which tapped into various components of mental health, while they attended these institutions. These included a negative impact on self-esteem, as well as high levels of depression and other mental health concerns. Themes of exclusion and access to transformational power were also uncovered. It was found that intersections of race and gender also influenced participant’s experiences. It was additionally found that Trans* graduates did not exclusively experience the impact of tertiary education systems as impairing, but rather there was also an acknowledgement of the existing efforts and the potential for these spaces to become more inclusive. This study contributes to a growing body of evidence on Trans* experiences, by highlighting the plight of Trans* individuals within tertiary educational institutions.
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- Date Issued: 2019