‘It's just a peripheral issue’: a qualitative analysis of mental health clinicians’ accounts of (not) addressing sexuality in their work

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorUrry, K.
dc.contributor.authorChur-Hansen, A.
dc.contributor.authorKhaw, C.
dc.date.issued2019
dc.description.abstractSexuality, relationships, and intimacy are integral parts of many peoples' lives, not negated by mental distress and illness. Yet typically, these needs are not addressed adequately in mental health settings. In-depth interviews were conducted with mental health clinicians with an aim of exploring their perceptions and understandings of sexuality and sexual concerns within mental health settings. Participants were 22 mental health nurses, psychologists, and psychiatrists working with people across a range of settings in four Australian cities. Sexuality or aspects of this were often not addressed in clinical practice, and this was common across participants' accounts. A critical thematic analysis was conducted to explore how participants made sense of or explained this silence in relation to sexuality. Two key themes were 'Sexuality is hard to talk about' and 'Sexuality is a "peripheral issue"'. In positioning sexuality as a peripheral issue, participants drew on three key explanations (sub-themes): that sexuality rarely 'comes up', that it is not pragmatic to address sexuality, and that addressing sexuality is not part of participants' roles or skill sets. A third theme captured the contrasting perception that 'Sexuality could be better addressed' in mental health settings. This analysis indicates that, beyond anticipated embarrassment, mental health clinicians from three disciplines account for omissions of sexuality from clinical practice in similar ways. Moreover, these accounts serve to peripheralize sexuality in mental health settings. We consider these results within the context of espoused holistic and recovery-oriented principles in mental health settings.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityKristi Urry, Anna Chur‐Hansen, Carole Khaw
dc.identifier.citationInternational Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 2019; 28(6):1278-1287
dc.identifier.doi10.1111/inm.12633
dc.identifier.issn1445-8330
dc.identifier.issn1447-0349
dc.identifier.orcidUrry, K. [0000-0002-8381-4354]
dc.identifier.orcidChur-Hansen, A. [0000-0002-2935-2689]
dc.identifier.orcidKhaw, C. [0000-0002-9374-2606]
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2440/120783
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherWiley
dc.rights© 2019 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1111/inm.12633
dc.subjectmental health
dc.subjectprofessional practice
dc.subjectqualitative research
dc.subjectsexual health
dc.subjectsexuality
dc.title‘It's just a peripheral issue’: a qualitative analysis of mental health clinicians’ accounts of (not) addressing sexuality in their work
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

Files

Collections

Nursing publications