Actitudes de los profesionales de Salud Mental hacia las personas trans

Abstract

Introduction and Objectives Transgender individuals seeking mental health services may encounter difficulties in accessing care due to structural, interpersonal, and individual barriers. Despite increasing research in recent years on affective and gender diversity, these users often find mental health services unpleasant and are hesitant to seek help for fear of being re-victimized or mistreated by professionals. The main objective of this research is to determine the attitudes of mental health professionals (psychiatry, psychology, nursing, and social work) working in the public health system towards transgender people. This is considering that the formation of these attitudes would be influenced by the characteristics, attributes, and individual differences of the professionals, which include sociodemographic variables as well as the training received, knowledge, and beliefs. Methodology A mixed-methods approach was employed for the various studies comprising this research. Initially, aiming to synthesize the available scientific evidence, a systematic review followed by a descriptive review of the results was conducted. This review included a total of 32 articles using quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methodologies. Subsequently, a cross-sectional and observational descriptive study was conducted using a sample of 154 mental health professionals working in various public facilities. They were given a self-reported questionnaire with 94 items, inquiring about sociodemographic variables, gender ideology, attitudes towards transgender people, and ambivalent sexism. Finally, to complete our research, a qualitative study from a hermeneutic perspective was conducted to explore the beliefs that mental health professionals hold in clinical interactions with transgender individuals and how these influence their attitudes and behaviors towards these users. For this, 14 mental health professionals working in the Mental Health Network of the Region of Murcia were interviewed, using convenience sampling and interpreting their own work experience as the basis for the research. Conclusions The results of this study suggest a generally positive trend in the attitudes of mental health professionals. However, these attitudes are influenced by various formative, psychosocial, and individual factors. Variables such as previous experiences with trans people, the therapist’s identity, their beliefs, and internal motivations can play a decisive role in shaping these attitudes. Additionally, variability in attitudes was observed depending on the profession, with more positive trends among social workers, psychologists, and female professionals. Lastly, there was a tendency to simplify trans and gender diversity experiences, which could lead to pathologizing perceptions and reduce the quality of care for these users, resulting in discriminatory attitudes.