Minority stress, prejudice, discrimination and erasure in relation to gender identity and sexuality are enduring. It is important that the field of, and research within, Clinical Psychology does not contribute to the erasure of individuals with diverse gender or sexuality minority identities through a paucity of research in this area. This thesis aims to explore the personal and therapeutic experiences of such individuals.

Part A of this portfolio presents an empirical study of bisexual and pansexual peoples’ experiences of psychological therapy in the UK. The findings highlighted a range of experiences including experiencing bi-erasure (through therapists making assumptions and attempts to be steered into mono-sexuality for instance), lack of attunement to bi/pansexual clients’ needs (through therapist not knowing how to explore sexual identity for instance), and feeling the inherent power differential.

Part B presents a systematic review which synthesises the current research relating to suicidality in gender diverse children. Out of the studies that directly compared suicidality in gender diverse children with their cisgender counterparts, the majority found suicidality was higher in the gender diverse children. This review offers a comprehensive understanding of the literature currently available, across different gender diverse identities and different countries.

 Taken together, both projects highlight the importance of increasing knowledge of and attempts to reduce power imbalances, health inequalities, erasure, and oppression and improving mental health and service provision for these client groups.