Working with people from sexual minorities in mental health services

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  The Development of a Short Training Resource for Mental Health Professionals about Working with People from Sexual Minorities

• IRAS ID

  357675

• Contact name

  Liam Alexander Mackay

• Contact email

  liam.mackay@ucl.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  University College London

• Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier

  Z6364106 2025 06 141, UCL Data Protection Registration Number

• Duration of Study in the UK

  0 years, 10 months, 14 days

• Research summary

  The aim of the study is to develop a short training resource for mental health professionals about working with people from sexual minorities (e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer). The study will be conducted in two stages.

  The first stage will be to conduct focus groups over three waves with relevant stakeholders. These three waves will consist of:

  Wave 1: The aim of this wave is to reach a consensus about what the key content of the training should be. The output of this wave will be a list of the content that is viewed as being the most important by stakeholders.
  Wave 2: The aim of this wave it to clarify any uncertainties regarding the proposed content from wave 1, and to facilitate a discussion about what format the training might take (e.g., in person, online), and how the proposed content should be reflected in the training (e.g., role plays, didactically).
  Wave 3: To summarise what has been discussed in the first two waves, to clarify uncertainties, and to make sure that the proposed content and format will be relevant across different stakeholders.

  The second stage of the study will involve recruiting mental health professionals working within NHS mental health services and asking them to complete the training that has been developed. Staff will be asked to complete a pre- and post- quantitative questionnaire measuring the acceptability of the training, and a smaller sample will be invited to participate in qualitative interviews about:
  -Their experience of doing the training
  -Their perception on the effectiveness of the training
  -The strengths and limitations of the training
  -Any potential implementation issues
  

• REC name

  London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  25/LO/0732

• Date of REC Opinion

  14 Oct 2025

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion