This report reviews the challenges LGBTQ+ youth face when seeking mental health services. Overall, more than half (54%) of LGBTQ youth who reported wanting mental health care in the past year did not receive it. The youth identify many barriers preventing them from getting the services they need.
Barriers include:
- Inability to afford care
- Not wanting to get permission from their parents
- Concerns that provider would only focus on sexual orientation/gender identity
- Mental health stigma within their culture
- Mental health system is not equipped to understand racial and cultural identities
- Concerns about the ability to trust therapists
