Pathologization of LGBTQIAindividuals in psychiatry, psychosomatic medicine, and psychotherapy - historical continuities and implications for medical training and practice

• Published in: Psychotherapie, Psychosomatik, medizinische Psychologie Vol. 75; no. 8; p. 328
• Main Authors: Halcour, Sophie, Bartel, Heike, Paslakis, Georgios
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: German
• Published: Germany 02.05.2025
• Subjects: Education, Medical; Female; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Humans; Male; Psychiatry - education; Psychiatry - history; Psychosomatic Medicine - education; Psychosomatic Medicine - history; Psychotherapy - education; Psychotherapy - history; Sexual and Gender Minorities - history; Sexual and Gender Minorities - psychology
• ISSN: 1439-1058
• DOI: 10.1055/a-2577-9908

The ongoing pathologization and criminalization of sexual and gender minorities means that LGBTQIA*individuals, due to minority stress, are significantly more likely to suffer from mental illness. A connection is made between the involvement of psychiatrists and psychotherapists in the systematic pathologization of LGBTQIA*individuals in the past and the associated implications for medical training and practice in the present.Heuristic methods of knowledge acquisition, using literature research, with a focus on the history of the (de-)pathologization of sexual and gender minorities as well as the associated historical continuities.Various examples of historical continuities in the pathologization of LGBTQIA*persons can be found. Although there has been an increased awareness of the importance of teaching aspects of diversity in medical school in recent years, there is still a need for a medical-historical examination of the pathologization of sexual and gender minorities.An "active de-pathologization" can only be achieved by dealing with the medical-psychiatric past in terms of content, including the implementation of such contents in medical education, as part of teaching medical history and the subjects of psychiatry, psychosomatic medicine, and psychotherapy, as well as in the context of courses on history taking.These reflexive processes must continue during psychiatric and psychosomatic training, and residents must be offered specific training on topics in this area.