View article

Available evidence affirms the effectiveness- of crisis helpline services in providing appropriate short-term intervention for many groups, but the unique needs of sexual minority adult callers may prevent them from deriving similar therapeutic benefit. Two hundred and forty-eight sexual minority adults from across Australia were asked about a previous personal crisis where they had accessed, or had considered accessing, a crisis helpline service. While most responses indicated some familiarity with available services, only 30% (n=75) of participants had accessed a helpline service during a time of crisis. Despite a low rate of service uptake, many of those who had used a service evaluated it positively. The low rate of overall engagement was attributed to a fear of being discriminated against by helpline workers or arose from a concern that they would have insufficient understanding of LGBT-specific concerns to be …