Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention

Question: Discuss about the Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention. Answer: Introduction: Multiple studies have demonstrated that persons identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual and intersexual (GLBTI) have greater vulnerability to various mental health issues in Australia (Australia Human Rights Commission, 2016). In particular, these individuals are most affected by anxiety, suicidal, and depression behaviours (Eisenberg Resnick, 2006; Johnson et al., 2013). Consequently, there is a considerable gap in addressing the psychological suffering of the GLBTI people, who incidentally experience excessively mental health problems than the general Australian population. According to Rosenstreich (2013) and Beyondblue (2014), the Australian government has not put in place adequate measures to address some of these predisposing factors to the negative mental health problems amongst the GLBTI. For instance, this category of the population continues to experience significant discriminating, isolation and social exclusion, reluctance to access assistance, and the failure of the common health approaches as well as prevention interventions that are inclusive of the GLBTI individuals and their needs. Barrett and Stephens (2012) observe that presently, the idea that treating each and every Australian the same is best practice is considered to be the single biggest barrier to change in GLBTI mental health. Moreover, recent studies reveal that this policy of equal treatment seems to reinforce the plight of the GLBTI mental health and thus, it is argued that the policy is not sufficient in addressing the problem. In this paper, the factors contributing to the GLBTI persons having high suicidal rates and one of the strategies that have been adopted to address these factors in Australia are discoursed. It is important to note that GLBTI young adults and teenagers have the highest suicidal attempts (Bagley Tremblay, 2000). According to Simone et al. (2011), this high suicidal rate is associated with institutionalized homophia and heterocentric cultures. Furthermore, studies have indicated that drug use and depression among the GLBTI people have both increased significantly after the passage of new laws that tend to discriminate them in the general populace, for example the illegalization of same-sex marriages. Ideally, in as much as such laws tend to reflect the social structure of the general population, these statutes end up alienating the GLBTI and consequently, pushing them to depression and drug use. Incidentally, a recent study has shown that the prevalence of suicidal thoughts, depression, and diagnosed anxiety amongst GLBTI in Australia is 25%, 47%, and 45% respectively (Smith et al., 2014). The researcher explicates that amongst the respondents that had previously reported of having expereinced discrimination, abuse, or harassment, 80% had considered harming themselves, 70% had already harmed themselves in one way or another, 37% had made a suicide attempt, and 81% had thought of committing suicide. Parenthetically, this empirical evidence demonstrates clearly that suicide behaviour amongst GLBTI is a significant problem that requires urgent intervention by the relevant stakeholders in mental health care, particularly the Australian government. Subsequently, studies have indicated that there are several factors that contribute to the high incidences of suicidal attempts and suicidal ideation amongst GLBTI people (King et al., 2008; Hatzenbuehler, 2011). Some of the identified factors include developmental stressors such as self-identifying, discrimination and prejudice, and isolation (Smith et al., 2003; Quinn, 2003). According to Nicholas and Howard (1998), self-identifying in early adulthood and adolescence has the potential of putting GLBI individuals at a greater risk for suicide attempt, substance abuse, and psychological difficulties. For instance, a study carried out by Smith et al. (2003) has indicated that same-sex attracted men in Australia that have not acted on their sexual desires have an increased psychological distress which may at times contribute to suicidal attempts and ideation. In another similar study, Meyer, Teyla and Schwartz (2014) establish that suicide attempts in GLBTI individuals often tend to occur more or less at the same time as the self-identifying stage. In contrast, discrimination and prejudice, according to McDaniel, Purcell, and D'Augelli (2011), may result in hostility, self-hatred, and shame, particularly as the individual internalizes homophobia. For instance, research reveals that bullied or victimized GLBTI students have two and half times potential of harming themselves as opposed to those not found in this category of the population (Liu Mustanski, 2012). In a recent Australian study, Symons et al. (2014) found out that the experience of homophobic bullying alongside low self-acceptance levels among gender diverse and same-sex students was predictive of anxiety, stress, and depression. Overall, the average levels of depression for the said students were found to have a moderate range whereas anxiety was reported to be in the moderate -severe range. On the other hand, the study revealed that stress was at mild-moderate levels. Moreover, the individuals recognized as gay indicated a higher sexual assault risk while those who had suffered physical assault were found to be having a higher risk of suicidal behaviour. Incidentally, the GLBTI people that reside in the rural areas have been found to be at an elevated risk of mental health problems as opposed to those found in the urban areas (Quinn, 2003). The researcher explicates that this increased risk is accompanied by a greater experience of homophobia and isolation as well as a declined sense of support and community services. In many occasions, suicide is significantly complex and problematic to predict. Nonetheless, as pointed out earlier, there are several environmental, psychosocial, and biochemical factors that are believed to have a close association with augmented risk. The Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) (2007) elucidates that not all of the identified risk factors suffered by the GLBTI individuals may necessarily be linked to sexual identity and sexual orientation. Ideally, the issues of gender identity and sexual orientation may play a proximal and interrelate with several other risk factors, the majority of which are also typical to the people of Australia in general (Patel et al., 2007). According to Pitts et al. (2006), empirical evidence also reveal that alcohol consumption as well as other substance use among the GLBTI individuals tends to recur more at harmful levels as opposed to the Australian population in general. Accordingly, this trend may further increase the potential of the GLBTI people experiencing mental health problems, suicide, and self-harm. Multiple research typically highlight the differences in substance use based on identification as GLBTI and age, urban versus rural, scene/non-scene, and clubbers (Howard et al., 2006). In general, the GLBTI people use more substances than those in the general population. Besides experiencing most of the self-harm and suicide risk factors mentioned in the preceding discussion, the majority of researchers agree that social isolation continues to be among the most predominant risk factors for the GLBTI people (Williamson, 2000). Social scholars also point out that, in contrast to religious and racial minorities, GLBTI people do not usually share their minority statuses with their family because the majority of them generally have cisgender, heterosexual parents. Consequently, this isolation contributes to increased depression and eventual suicidal ideation and suicidal attempts. Incidentally, the government of Australia has in the recent years been more keen in mitigating the various risk factors associated with high suicidal incidences among the GLBTI than the general population by adopting and implementing various strategies (Suicide Prevention Australia (2009). One of the strategies that the government has implemented is the extensive use of the mainstream media, particularly the information communication technology (ICT) as a platform for GLBTI health promotion. The Australian government recognizes the Internet as an essential tool for reaching a large number of marginalized and otherwise traditionally difficult to reach groups in the country so far as the provision of government services such healthcare is concerened (Drabble, Keatley, Marcelle, 2003; Burns et al. (2007). Thus, to deliver important mental healthcare programs to the GLBTI communities, the government of Australia has made a significant investment in its ICT infrastructure, for example go vernment Websites. The Websites provide relevant content that enables the GLBTI communities to learn about the different ways they can manage their mental health as well as the information on how to access government support in mental health. Subsequently, research supports the theory that the GLBTI communities utilize the Internet as a main means of acquiring and learning more insights concerning gender identity and sexuality (Hegland Nelson, 2002). Moreover, the Internet also offers the GLBTI communities with an opportunity to interact with their peers through the active engagement in social networks and online communities, thereby overcoming the isolation risk factor. Hegland and Nelson (2002) observe that the positive self-esteem acquired from the experiences of online community engagement facilitate the GLBTI people, particularly the youth, to become confident during the coming out to both their families as well as friends and in search of offline assistance to encourage them in accepting their sexuality and gender identity issues. In more recent time, studies have also established the importance of online involvement to the older people, demonstrating that the elderly GLBTI could benefit significantly from the Internet support and intervention (Aguilar, Boerema Harrison, 2010). Overall, ICT provides a significant potential when it comes to suicide prevention and mental health promotion for GLBTI people who encounter considerable problems in accessing the relevant insights and support in the sphere of sexuality and gender identity because of stigmatization, including the sensitive of these challenges. In conclusion, it is clear from the preceding discourse that indeed, the individuals who identify as GLBTI have higher suicidal rates than the general Australian population. The various risk factors attributed to this situation include prejudice and isolation, and developmental stressors such as self-identifying. Accordingly, studies have established that in one way or another, these risk factors have the potential of influencing the mental health of GLBTI communities, including the emergence of suicide ideation and suicide attempts. To mitigate these risk factors, the Australian government has adopted the extensive use of ICT as one of the strategies to prevent GLBTI people from attempting suicide or developing suicidal ideation. The ICT infrastructure, for example the government websites, have focused on providing GLBTI individuals with the relevant information concerning their mental health and thus, encouraged the decline in suicide rates. References Aguilar, A., Boerema, C., Harrison, J. (2010). Meanings attributed by older adults to computer use. Journal of Occupational Science, 17(1), 27-33. Australia Human Rights Commission (2016). Face the facts: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex People | Australian Human Rights Commission. (2016). Humanrights.gov.au. 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