LGBTQ+ veterans' experiences of mental health and help seeking in the military and beyond.

Evidence has shown that military personnel who identify as LGBTQ+ report poorer mental health and wellbeing, more stigma and barriers to treatment, experience more sexual trauma, and poorer physical health (Mark et al., 2019). However, much of the research conducted has been focused outside of the UK, and much of the research so far has taken a quantitative approach. Based on these gaps in research, the current study adopts an exploratory approach in order to better understand LGBTQ+ Veteran's experiences of their mental health during the military and after discharge. This will be a qualitative study, which will give an in-depth understanding of people’s experiences that have not been explored previously in a UK sample.

This research aims to gain an understanding of LGBTQ+ Veteran's experiences of mental health and help-seeking during and after Service

Participants will be asked to complete a short questionnaire about their demographics, military background, and mental health history. Those who are eligible will then be offered an interview via Microsoft Teams, which will take 60-90 minutes and take a semi-structured approach. 

• How do Veterans who identify as LGBTQ+ describe their mental wellbeing during and after serving?
• What are their experiences of help-seeking? 

Participants must meet the following criteria: 
1. Identify as a part of the LGBTQ+ community (including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, or another sexual/gender minority).
2. Has previously served in the UK military in any role 
3. English speaking
4. Able to give informed consent

The project team aim to to recruit 8 participants in total.