Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
School of Social Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
Health Soc Care Community. 2021 May;29(3):672-684. doi: 10.1111/hsc.13333. Epub 2021 Mar 11.
Crisis helplines are typically easily accessible and deliver interventions in a timely manner, regardless of geographical location. The efficacy and user experiences of these services are the subject of considerable interest within the field, but the experiences of trans and gender-diverse individuals remain unexplored despite high rates of mental ill health being documented in this population. A total of 134 trans and gender-diverse Australians were surveyed about their experiences of personal crises and of utilising crisis helplines. Within our sample, 84.2% (n = 113) of participants recognised at least one service - however, only 32.8% (n = 44) utilised a service to cope with a personal crisis. Participants cited poor recognition and understanding of the challenges specific to trans and gender-diverse individuals among helpline workers as a primary reason for avoiding these services, and articulated needs which were a poor fit for the one-off intervention model commonly employed by helpline services. In order for helpline services to be viable avenues of support for trans and gender-diverse individuals during a personal crisis, helpline workers must be sufficiently equipped to work with trans and gender-diverse callers and to facilitate their enrolment in 'traditional' mental health services.
危机热线通常易于访问，并能及时提供干预措施，无论地理位置如何。这些服务的效果和用户体验是该领域相当关注的话题，但跨性别和性别多样化个体的体验仍然没有得到探索，尽管这一人群的心理健康问题发生率很高。共有 134 名澳大利亚跨性别和性别多样化个体接受了关于个人危机经历和使用危机热线的调查。在我们的样本中，84.2%（n=113）的参与者认识至少一个服务——然而，只有 32.8%（n=44）利用服务来应对个人危机。参与者表示，热线工作人员对跨性别和性别多样化个体特有的挑战缺乏认识和理解，这是他们回避这些服务的主要原因，他们表达的需求与热线服务通常采用的一次性干预模式不太匹配。为了使危机热线服务成为跨性别和性别多样化个体在个人危机期间的可行支持途径，热线工作人员必须具备足够的能力与跨性别和性别多样化的来电者合作，并为他们提供“传统”心理健康服务。
