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<p>Research consistently indicates elevated risks of mental health difficulties among queer populations, and in the Indian context these experiences are further shaped by the intersecting stigmas surrounding both mental health concerns and queer identities. Understanding queer individuals’ experiences of engaging with mental health services is therefore important for developing more accessible and affirming forms of care. The present qualitative study explored queer individuals’ experiences of mental health services, encompassing processes of identifying, accessing, and navigating services, as well as experiences within therapeutic relationships and their influence on personal understandings. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight queer individuals from Assam, India between the ages of 19 to 26 years who had attended at least two sessions with a mental health professional with diverse mental health needs not restricted to queer related issues. Participants represented diverse sexual and gender identities, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, queer, transgender, and non-binary identities. Data were interpreted using a critical realist framework, and analysed using Braun et al.’s (2023) reflexive thematic analysis, generating three themes: <i>The Hidden Labour of Accessing Mental Health Services</i>, <i>Building Trust Within the Therapeutic Relationship</i>, and <i>The Self in the Therapy Room</i>. Findings highlighted the practical labour involved in accessing care, the importance of therapeutic relationships characterised by safety, warmth, and respect for clients’ autonomy, and the role of therapy as a space for negotiating internalised stigma and reconstructing meanings surrounding identity and selfhood. The study contributes to the limited literature on queer experiences of mental health services in India and highlights the need for structural and clinical initiatives aimed at improving the accessibility and affirmativeness of care for queer individuals across diverse socioeconomic contexts.</p>

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From Access to Meaning-Making: Queer Individuals’ Experiences of Accessing Mental Health Services in Assam, India

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月7日

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  • Rupa Gogoi,
  • Niharika Borgohain

摘要

Research consistently indicates elevated risks of mental health difficulties among queer populations, and in the Indian context these experiences are further shaped by the intersecting stigmas surrounding both mental health concerns and queer identities. Understanding queer individuals’ experiences of engaging with mental health services is therefore important for developing more accessible and affirming forms of care. The present qualitative study explored queer individuals’ experiences of mental health services, encompassing processes of identifying, accessing, and navigating services, as well as experiences within therapeutic relationships and their influence on personal understandings. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight queer individuals from Assam, India between the ages of 19 to 26 years who had attended at least two sessions with a mental health professional with diverse mental health needs not restricted to queer related issues. Participants represented diverse sexual and gender identities, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, queer, transgender, and non-binary identities. Data were interpreted using a critical realist framework, and analysed using Braun et al.’s (2023) reflexive thematic analysis, generating three themes: The Hidden Labour of Accessing Mental Health Services, Building Trust Within the Therapeutic Relationship, and The Self in the Therapy Room. Findings highlighted the practical labour involved in accessing care, the importance of therapeutic relationships characterised by safety, warmth, and respect for clients’ autonomy, and the role of therapy as a space for negotiating internalised stigma and reconstructing meanings surrounding identity and selfhood. The study contributes to the limited literature on queer experiences of mental health services in India and highlights the need for structural and clinical initiatives aimed at improving the accessibility and affirmativeness of care for queer individuals across diverse socioeconomic contexts.