3 - (SYM 35) LGBTQ Community Mental Health Providers' Attitudes Towards Evidence-based Practice: The Role of Individual and Organizational Characteristics

Providers’ attitudes toward evidence-based practices (EBPs), including their openness to delivering new, research-based treatments, may influence the ultimate implementation of these treatments. LGBTQ-serving organizations represent an important setting for examining providers’ EBP attitudes given the need for effective, affirmative treatments for LGBTQ people, as well as potential skepticism in adopting new treatments due to historical harms perpetuated toward LGBTQ individuals by the mental health field.

This study examined provider- and organization-level determinants of LGBTQ-serving providers’ attitudes toward EBPs. Mental health providers (N = 771) affiliated with one of 90 LGBTQ community centers completed surveys before being trained in LGBTQ-affirmative CBT, an EBP focused on addressing LGBTQ clients’ distinct treatment needs. We fit linear regression models to test associations between individual (e.g., demographics, background) and organization (e.g., organization climate and leadership) characteristics and providers’ 1) openness to EBPs and 2) perceived divergence between research-based treatments and their current practice. 

Providers’ theoretical orientation, academic discipline, and ethnicity significantly predicted their openness to EBPs, while theoretical orientation, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation were significantly associated with EBP divergence scores (all ps < 0.05). Providers who selected CBT as their theoretical orientation, providers with social work degrees, and Hispanic providers had higher openness scores than those who did not select CBT, those with counseling degrees, and non-Hispanic providers, respectively. Black/MENA providers, Hispanic providers, LGBQ providers, and providers who selected psychodynamic/psychoanalytic as their theoretical orientation reported higher divergence than white providers, non-Hispanic providers, heterosexual providers, and those who did not select psychodynamic/psychoanalytic. Age, educational attainment, and gender did not predict EBP attitudes. At the organization level, providers reporting that their organization prioritizes and supports EBP reported higher openness and lower divergence (p < 0.05). 

These findings highlight the role that both individual and organizational-level characteristics play in shaping attitudes toward EBPs among LGBTQ-serving providers. In particular, they underline the importance of incorporating diverse provider perspectives in the development and implementation of EBPs.