ABSTRACT

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 able to render meaningful support. For helpline services to increase service uptake among sexual minority adults, it is recommended that outreach efforts be undertaken to dispel the negative perceptions about such services by sexual minority persons.

摘要

现有证据证实了危机求助热线服务在为许多群体提供适当的短期干预方面的有效性，但性少数成年呼叫者的独特需求可能会阻止他们获得类似的治疗益处。来自澳大利亚各地的 248 名性少数成年人被问及之前的个人危机，他们曾使用或考虑使用危机帮助热线服务。虽然大多数回复表明对可用服务有些熟悉，但只有 30%（n=75) 的参与者在危机期间使用了帮助热线服务。尽管服务接受率很低，但许多使用过服务的人对它的评价是积极的。整体参与率低的原因是害怕被热线工作人员歧视，或者担心他们对 LGBT 特定问题的理解不足，无法提供有意义的支持。对于帮助热线服务以增加性少数成年人的服务吸收率，建议开展外展工作以消除性少数人对此类服务的负面看法。