Bisexuality Psychotherapy and Counseling

A recent study found the following concerning bisexuals and trauma:

• Bisexual people to be more likely to report certain types of trauma and serious psychological distress than heterosexual, gay, or lesbian individuals
• Bisexual individuals often experience discrimination not only from society in general but also from within the LGBTQ community.
• Bisexual people to be more likely to report certain types of trauma and serious psychological distress than heterosexual, gay, or lesbian individuals.
• Bisexual men and women, and gay men, were significantly less likely than lesbians to seek mental health services.
• Bisexuals who were out to their therapists rated their overall satisfaction with services higher than those who were not.

Discussing bisexuality in therapy is most beneficial to the experience of therapy and your life! Read the below study for more specifics.

The Study

Ovrebo, E., Brown, E.L., Emery, H.E., Stenersen, M., Schimmel-Bristow, A. & Steinruck, R.E. (2018). Bisexual invisibility in trauma: PTSD symptomology, and mental health care experiences among bisexual women and men versus lesbians and gay men. Journal of Bisexuality, 18(2), 168-185.

Bisexual individuals often experience discrimination not only from society in general, but also from within the LGBTQ community (Israel & Mohr, 2004). Previous studies have found bisexual people to be more likely to report certain types of trauma and serious psychological distress than heterosexual, gay or lesbian individuals (Walters et al., 2013; Ward, Dahlhamer, Galinsky & Joestl, 2014). Informed by these findings, the authors of this study sought to examine whether bisexual women and men experience interpersonal trauma (IPT) and PTSD symptomology differently from lesbians and gay men. They also investigated whether bisexual women and men differ from lesbians and gay men in choosing to come out to their mental health professionals or in overall satisfaction with the mental health care they receive.

Researchers recruited participants via survey descriptions on their own social media pages and on relevant Reddit forums, and links sent to over 200 sexual minority organizations. Five-hundred-sixty-nine participants completed the survey, and the 404 participants who reported experiencing at least once incidence of IPT in their lifetime were included in the study. Other eligibility requirements included being age 18 or older, a resident of the United States, cisgender, and a member of a sexual minority population. Forty-two percent of participants identified as gay, 20% as lesbian and 39% as bisexual.

Participants were asked demographic questions and about any experiences with mental health treatment and interpersonal violence (IPV). The IPV questions asked about examples of the most commonly reported types of IPV, the recency and frequency of such experiences, number of lifetime experiences, age they experienced their first incident, and which type of incident had been the most significant or traumatic to them. Finally, participants who had experienced at least one form of IPV in their lifetime were asked 20 questions from the DSM-5 PTSD Checklist.

Results indicated no significant differences based on sexual orientation for variables surrounding the most recent IPT event, the age of first IPT experience, the number or type of IPT experiences each participant reported. No significant differences were found regarding total amount of PTSD symptoms in participants based on sexual orientation. However, when separated by gender, bisexual women reported experiencing IPT more recently than lesbians. No such difference existed between gay and bisexual men.
Bisexual men and women, and gay men, were significantly less likely than lesbians to seek mental health services. Lesbians and gay men were also more likely to come out to their therapists than bisexual women and men. Importantly, participants who were out to their therapists rated their overall satisfaction with services higher than those who were not. Finally, there was no significant difference in the overall satisfaction with mental health services between gay or lesbian and bisexual participants.

This study points to the benefits of working to ensure that bisexual individuals can feel comfortable coming out to their therapists. Based on other recent research, the authors of this study specifically recommend lesbian and gay targeted training experiences and multicultural courses to inform practice with bisexual individuals (Alessi, Dillon & Kim, 2015; O’Shaughnessy & Spokane, 2013). There is little information on specific strategies for creating bisexual-affirming treatment, so this study also serves as a call for more research specifically focused on bisexual individuals and mental health care.

Over the last several years more men have been seeking help for issues concerning their bisexuality. Many are trying to understand themselves better as well as explore their sexuality. Some of the issues they face and/or dealing with include: