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tompsy.bsky.social
Tom Kent
@tompsy.bsky.social
35 followers 46 following 44 posts
Lecturer @Royal Holloway, U. of London & Clinical Psychologist. Interested in psychological therapy, LGBQ, research, social history, etc. Own views.
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tompsy.bsky.social
Tom Kent @tompsy.bsky.social · 1d
The potential overturning of conversion therapy bans highlights something wider: therapy isn’t “anything goes.”
We don’t just say or practise whatever we think or believe — our work is guided by evidence, ethics, and professional standards.
#SCOTUS #therapy
tompsy.bsky.social
Tom Kent @tompsy.bsky.social · 9d
We’re looking for LGBQ individuals who’ve had NHS therapy (in the past year) to share experiences of topics that felt hard to discuss. I’m supervising this project — see the poster in Millie’s post for details. #LGBTQ #Mentalhealth #Psychotherapy #NHS
mlpsych97.bsky.social
Millie @mlpsych97.bsky.social · 10d
Do you identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or queer?

Are there topics you found difficult to discuss in therapy?

I want to hear from YOU!

#LGBTQ+ #Research #mentalhealth #LGBTQplus #LGBTQResearch #lesbian #gay #bisexual #queer #psychology
tompsy.bsky.social
Tom Kent @tompsy.bsky.social · Sep 5
LGBT+ Health Evidence Review - NHS England

The evidence submission process will close on Sunday, 7 September 2025. #LGBT #NHS

www.england.nhs.uk/about/equali...
NHS England » LGBT+ health evidence review
NHS England » LGBT+ health evidence review
www.england.nhs.uk
tompsy.bsky.social
Tom Kent @tompsy.bsky.social · Sep 5
Check out this page: www.bps.org.uk/news/stateme...
Statement Regarding Historical Published Articles on Conversion Therapy | BPS
The British Psychological Society (BPS) acknowledges that in the past, our journals published articles by authors who explored and/or endorsed attempts to change sexual orientation and gender identity...
www.bps.org.uk
tompsy.bsky.social
Tom Kent @tompsy.bsky.social · Sep 5
LGBTQ+ in clinical psychology training in the UK: The sound of silence
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
Reposted by Tom Kent
ploederl.bsky.social
Martin Plöderl @ploederl.bsky.social · Jul 27
This is the 2017 study
bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
Another study we did using data from a German clinic
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
After the many rejections of both manuscripts, which I did not experience before, I decided to move away from LGB-related research.
Sexual orientation differences in treatment expectation, alliance, and outcome among patients at risk for suicide in a public psychiatric hospital - BMC Psychiatry
Background Sexual minority (SM) individuals (gay, lesbian, bisexual, or otherwise nonheterosexual) are at increased risk for mental disorders and suicide and adequate mental healthcare may be life-sav...
bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com
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tompsy.bsky.social
Tom Kent @tompsy.bsky.social · Jul 28
But our study, and international studies, suggest (good) psychotherapy may buffer these types of external stresses and help narrow disparities in clinical outcomes.
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tompsy.bsky.social
Tom Kent @tompsy.bsky.social · Jul 28
There’s likely regional variation in environmental stigma and community support — so it’s a natural hypothesis that these factors affect outcomes.
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tompsy.bsky.social
Tom Kent @tompsy.bsky.social · Jul 28
We really need updated national analyses to see whether those estimates have shifted — especially given improvements in data collection and social attitudes over time.
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tompsy.bsky.social
Tom Kent @tompsy.bsky.social · Jul 28
For gay men, national evidence already points to broadly equivalent outcomes. The real unknowns are bisexual people and lesbian women: an older national IAPT study suggested poorer results, but it had missing data and is nearly a decade old.
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tompsy.bsky.social
Tom Kent @tompsy.bsky.social · Jul 28
At the end of the paper, I suggest that rural areas or regions with smaller LGB populations would be a valuable focus for future research — to explore how local social and structural factors may shape therapy outcomes.
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tompsy.bsky.social
Tom Kent @tompsy.bsky.social · Jul 28
Thanks for the repost, André — and great question! Because our data come from urban London services, I’m careful not to overgeneralise.
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Reposted by Tom Kent
ploederl.bsky.social
Martin Plöderl @ploederl.bsky.social · Jul 27
UK study: LGB patients benefit as well from psychotherapy as heterosexual pts.
We did a similar study in 2017, it was very hard to get it published, maybe bc results didn't fit the narrative. Don't get me wrong, homophobia is real, also in healthcare. We need to get rid of biases in research, too
Psychological therapy outcomes by sexual orientation and gender: a retrospective cohort study | Psychological Medicine | Cambridge Core
Psychological therapy outcomes by sexual orientation and gender: a retrospective cohort study - Volume 55
www.cambridge.org
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tompsy.bsky.social
Tom Kent @tompsy.bsky.social · Jul 26
@thementalelf.bsky.social Would really appreciate a RT to help the findings reach a broader audience if possible. Thank you!
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tompsy.bsky.social
Tom Kent @tompsy.bsky.social · Jul 24
9/
🙏 Huge thanks to my brilliant co-authors at @uclpals.bsky.social & @uclpsychiatry.bsky.social
Thanks also to the NHS Talking Therapies patients whose care journeys made this study possible, the clinicians who provided that care, & the LGB service users & therapists we consulted.
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tompsy.bsky.social
Tom Kent @tompsy.bsky.social · Jul 24
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🗣️ We consulted LGB service users and therapists to help interpret the findings.
They spoke of openness toward therapy and strong motivation to engage.
Many saw it as a rare space to feel safe, understood, and supported — which may help explain these outcomes, despite high distress levels.
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tompsy.bsky.social
Tom Kent @tompsy.bsky.social · Jul 24
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📊 Bisexual men were less likely to drop out than heterosexual men (26.6% vs 29.7%).
Bisexual women also dropped out less often than heterosexual women (24.2% vs 26.8%).
Lesbian and bisexual women attended more sessions — but the difference was negligible (≈1 extra per 100 patients).
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tompsy.bsky.social
Tom Kent @tompsy.bsky.social · Jul 24
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📈 Gay men showed slightly greater reductions in depression and anxiety symptoms.
These differences are unlikely to be noticeable for most individuals — but at group level, recovery was higher (54.0% vs 47.5%) and dropout lower (25.5% vs 29.7%) than for heterosexual men.
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tompsy.bsky.social
Tom Kent @tompsy.bsky.social · Jul 24
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🔍 Want more detail? Here’s how outcomes varied slightly between LGB subgroups.
These differences were small overall — but worth unpacking.
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tompsy.bsky.social
Tom Kent @tompsy.bsky.social · Jul 24
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✅ The good news? LGB patients did just as well.
They improved at similar rates, were just as likely to recover, and just as likely to stay in therapy as heterosexual patients.
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tompsy.bsky.social
Tom Kent @tompsy.bsky.social · Jul 24
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🧠 We analysed 94,239 patients in NHS Talking Therapies across North and East London who disclosed their sexual orientation.
7,422 identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB).
We compared their therapy outcomes and engagement to heterosexual patients.
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tompsy.bsky.social
Tom Kent @tompsy.bsky.social · Jul 24
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🏳️‍🌈 LGB people experience higher rates of depression & anxiety — but do they have similar outcomes in therapy?
Previous research raised concerns about poorer outcomes for bisexual men and women, and for lesbian women.
We re-examined this using a larger and more recent dataset from London services.
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tompsy.bsky.social
Tom Kent @tompsy.bsky.social · Jul 24
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📢 Pleased to share that our new paper is now published in Psychological Medicine!
We looked at therapy outcomes for LGB patients compared to heterosexual patients in NHS Talking Therapies.
Here’s a short thread on what we found 👇
🔗 doi.org/10.1017/S003...
Psychological therapy outcomes by sexual orientation and gender: a retrospective cohort study | Psychological Medicine | Cambridge Core
Psychological therapy outcomes by sexual orientation and gender: a retrospective cohort study - Volume 55
doi.org
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Reposted by Tom Kent
yalesph.bsky.social
Yale School of Public Health @yalesph.bsky.social · Jul 10
Prof. John Pachankis directs one of the world’s leading academic centers on LGBTQ+ mental health research.

In March, the initiative lost all eight of its federal NIH grants and contracts totaling about $5 million.

Pachankis reached out to Jamie Marks. Marks' gift saved the study: m.yale.edu/c7t9
"His Gift Saved the Study" Yale Donor Gives LGBTQ+ Research a Lifeline Read more in our latest issue of Science & Society. Photo of John Pachankis speaking.
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tompsy.bsky.social
Tom Kent @tompsy.bsky.social · Jul 10
One of Paul Flowers’ concluding points in his keynote was the importance of supporting the next generation of qualitative researchers. I think mentorship from more experienced researchers is very advantageous—not only for early career success in academia, but also for achieving impact #qmip2025
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