Capacity needs of Pakistani psychiatrists to deliver community-sensitive mental health services to sexual minority men

TL;DR

The study explores how Pakistani psychiatrists can better support sexual minority men by addressing stigma and improving training.

Contribution

The study identifies specific capacity needs of psychiatrists in Pakistan to provide inclusive mental health care to sexual minorities.

Findings

Psychiatrists in Pakistan lack understanding of human rights and confidentiality for sexual minorities.

Stigma and religious/social values hinder inclusive mental health services for sexual minority men.

Training is needed to unlearn biases and improve care for sexual minorities in Pakistan.

Abstract

Sexual minorities face a high degree of social and religious stigma in Pakistan. The current study aims to identify the capacity needs of the psychiatry fraternity for providing person-centered care to sexual minority men in Pakistan. A qualitative exploratory study was conducted from May 2024 to October 2024. Four consultant psychiatrists (CP), nine postgraduate residents (PGR) in psychiatry, and eight sexual minority men (SM) were interviewed. Thematic analysis was done. Data was analyzed using NVIVO version 14.0. Main emergent themes included a lack of understanding among psychiatrists related to the human rights of SM, and confidentiality, a lack of knowledge about sexuality and gender, stigma in psychiatric settings due to religious and social values, and a lack of rigorous and structured training for residents in providing person-centered care to SM. Consultant psychiatrists and residents attributed homosexuality to either Western values or classified it with pedophilia, or a cognitive distortion amenable to cognitive therapies. There is a need to unlearn stigma and improve the understanding of psychiatrists through training for the provision of community-sensitive services to sexual minority men.

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