Mental Health A Person-centred Approach

As mental health practitioners, we will encounter the broad and diverse range of sexual orientations and gender identities within the people we serve. In this chapter we focus on the cultural diversity of genders and sexualities, and the effects of marginalisation, interpersonal and intimate partner violence and abuse on people’s mental health (Bosse et al., 2018). We describe the ways in which mental health practitioners are able to practise empathically and effectively in gender, diversity, and disclosures of violence and abuse. Throughout the chapter, we will be reading Riley’s story to help us understand how mental health services can be more supportive and accepting of gender and sexual diversity.