By Matt Simonette

Staff writer

Mental health and GLBT health officials and experts came together for a two-day conference in Chicago last week that shed light on issues surrounding suicide in the GLBT community.

The forum, “Consensus Conference on LGBT Suicide: Research, Treatment and Prevention,” held Nov. 8-9 at the Embassy Suites Chicago downtown, was sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association and the Suicide Prevention Resource Center.

Researchers agree that GLBTs are two to four times more at risk to attempt suicide. But beyond that initial statistic, there is much that researchers do not know about this phenomenon, according to Joel Ginsberg, executive director of GLMA.

“There’s not good info on completed suicide attempts, for example,” Ginsberg said, since official suicide statistics do not include information on sexual orientation. Since clear data on the GLBT population is lacking, few suicide prevention programs specifically address them.

Ginsberg said that GLBTs—as well as non-gender conforming straights—are probably at higher risk because of a number of factors, including rejection from family and friends, exposure to violence, childhood sexual abuse and depression.

But he said growing research indicates that even small, repeated insults, such as those from a co-worker or family member, can ultimately affect someone profoundly, even at a physiological level.

Mental health professionals need to be educated and sensitive about GLBT issues, and should emphasize a holistic approach to mental wellness for GLBT patients, according to Ginsberg, who added that the mythologized image of GLBT patients tortured by issues surrounding their sexuality needs to be erased.

“LGBT people have been pathologized over and over again,” he said. “That story, of the tortured gay person, is so compelling. But that creates the stigma that creates the problem.”

Ann Haas, research director for AFSP, said, “Training is lacking in medical schools and schools of psychology,” adding, “One of the clearest things is that there is no mental health modality” for GLBT patients.

She further admitted that the gathering raised more questions than it could answer.

“We know that this is something that affects young people and continues into adulthood, but we don’t know anything about its prevalence in the elder population,” Haas said.

Statistics on suicide attempts have made it clear to AFSP officials that sexuality issues play a role, which is why the organization began planning the conference with GLMA and SPRC a year ago.

“We (realized) that this was an issue we had to address systematically,” Haas said.