LESBIAN USES OF AND SATISFACTION WITH MENTAL-HEALTH-SERVICES - RESULTS FROM BOSTON LESBIAN HEALTH PROJECT

In response to the dearth of specific information about lesbians' heal th status and practices in the health literature, a national study uti lizing a self-administered questionnaire was conducted in 1987 by four associates of the Fenway Community Health Center in Boston to access data in these areas. The questionnaire solicited information about dem ographics, health practices, stress in personal and work lives, mental and physical health problems, sexual practices, family history of hea lth related problems, and genetic attributes hypothesized to be relate d to ''gayness.'' Questionnaires from 1,633 lesbian women provided the database for the study. This paper discusses the portion of the surve y that dealt with mental health services and life experiences. Past st udies that investigated mental health needs of lesbians focused on the quality of treatment by mental health providers, rates of suicide att empts, and alcoholism. This paper compares these past findings with th e responses of the lesbians in this national, community-based study. F indings indicate that although a significant number of the lesbian wom en in this sample had been in therapy, they sought out therapy as a co ping strategy to deal with similar Issues as other women, i.e., depres sion and relationships. Suicide attempts decreased considerably after adolescence and ''coming out.'' Rates of alcohol use and abuse, althou gh difficult to compare with other studies, were higher than other wom en but similar to other studies investigating a community sample of le sbians. Even with a high family history of alcoholism, less than 5 per cent reported having sought out therapy to deal with any issues of alc ohol or drug use.