Relationships are tricky. They can sometimes be overshadowed by miscommunication and stress – even if the relationship is a healthy one. Despite this, relationships are worth the effort. They can help boost our confidence during good times and bad. For those of us belonging to a minority group, relationships with others can play a significant role in helping us feel connected and understood.
This extends into the care we receive for our mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing. Regardless of whether your relationship with someone is personal or professional, it is important that the relationship is built on trust and respect. For many people in minorities, this journey to relational safety can be difficult, filled with stigma, discrimination, and mistrust.
What does research tell us?
Recent research has shown a glaring need for current family and relationship support services to be adapted to make minorities feel more welcomed and understood. These minorities come from racial, ethnic, cultural, sexual, and gender differences that are often underrepresented or overlooked in institutional procedures and conversations that feed into available services.
What barriers exist for minorities?
You might be thinking, "Being misunderstood is just part of accessing things like social services. Isn't that the point?" We all have our difficulties in ensuring we are understood by others, but this is often twofold for minorities, especially when many of our available relationship support services rely on attending GP appointments for referrals. People in minority groups will often have added difficulties in addition to basic issues we all face.
These include:
- Family circumstances and support levels. There is a discrepancy in the quality of familial relationships for many minorities, as well as the absence of a supportive community. These relationships form a crucial support base for anyone needing extra help, as well as benefitting mental health. Barriers may exist because immediate family live in another country or city, or because their families have chosen to be unsupportive. For example, many LGBTQ+ people reported “daily struggles in navigating family support” as some family members are too conservative or ignorant to be supportive of them (Grigoreva, Darja and Szaszkó, Bence; 2024).
- Social stigmas and a lack of cultural understanding. Studies have shown that “fear of stigma about sexuality, cultural attitudes, and concern about [service] providers’ ignorance” causes many adults within minorities to disengage, especially young adults, regardless of whether support was truly needed (Moore, et al., 2020). Others also felt “culturally alienated,” and that they were required to downplay their religious, sexual, or cultural identities in order to be understood by their provider. This increased beliefs that the services available were not relevant to them (Yasmin-Qureshi, S. and Ledwith, S., 2020).
- Structural and practical barriers. Some minorities may struggle with a language barrier, having limited or no understanding of the English language. Others may be unable to access transportation to reach appointments, or could be unable to schedule appointments or be contacted over the phone. Alongside these barriers, ethnic minority carers often report that their clients struggle with “low awareness of services or not seeing a need for services,” with some believing they are culturally or religiously inappropriate (Greenwood, et all, 2014).
- Internalised fears and mistrust of past experiences. Many minorities have lived with, or in fear of, discrimination for years – sometimes lifetimes. This can impact their internalised beliefs of trust and safety, especially within the vulnerable setting of GP appointments when seeking referrals. Sometimes, as is the case among LGBTQ+ individuals, this stress can create “heightened barriers to seeking help and worse mental health outcomes” (Cronin, et al., 2020). One study found that 71% of transgender respondents had delayed seeking care due to fear of discrimination, even in times of great need (Stotzer, et al, 2013). There may also be historical discrimination, if services have previously not respected a minority's cultural norms (Yasmin-Qureshi, S. and Ledwith, S., 2020).
- Mental and physical health stressors. As each minority comes with its own set of unique challenges, it can be difficult for them to feel they are being fully understood, which can lead to low quality relationships in both professional and personal capacities. They may be struggling with a physical difference that is obvious, or one that is internal and harder to see. They may not be able to understand the language or cultural expectations being expected of them. These challenges can impact the motivation an individual has for taking care of their mental and physical health, which can in turn put added stress onto their personal relationships with others (Feinstein, et al., 2018).
The importance of awareness
One study found that most common experience between minorities is the feeling of being rejected (Panesar, et al, 2024). The responsibility to ensure those belonging to a minority group feel valued, understood, and represented falls on all of us. We all need to do better.
If you are a practitioner working with families across the UK, you can make small changes that have a big impact. Making adjustments instead of assumptions to try and help others feel seen, recognising the differences in clients’ situations that could make things more difficult for them, and creating helpful solutions that consider their unique circumstances can help shift the narrative and change expectations.
If you belong to a minority group, it is always important to advocate for yourself in every relationship – whether this is with a professional helping you, your neighbours, coworkers, and friends, or your partner and your family. Asking for assistance with appointments if you need it (eg translators, chaperones) can help make communication clearer for everyone. Creating relationships with others in your minority group can give you ideas about how to approach meetings or what to ask for.
We all need to remember to be patient and kind with one another before everything else. It may sound idealistic, but we can achieve more good when we work together to get on better.
References
Cronin, T.J., Pepping, C.A., Halford, W.K. and Lyons, A. (2020). Minority Stress and Psychological Outcomes in Sexual Minorities: The Role of Barriers to Accessing Services. Journal of Homosexuality, pp.1–13. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2020.1804264.
Feinstein, B.A., McConnell, E., Dyar, C., Mustanski, B. and Newcomb, M.E. (2018). Minority stress and relationship functioning among young male same-sex couples: An examination of actor–partner interdependence models. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 86(5), pp.416–426. doi:https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000296.
Greenwood, N., Habibi, R., Smith, R. and Manthorpe, J. (2014). Barriers to access and minority ethnic carers’ satisfaction with social care services in the community: a systematic review of qualitative and quantitative literature. Health & Social Care in the Community, [online] 23(1), pp.64–78. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.12116.
Grigoreva, Darja and Szaszkó, Bence (2024). Minority stress and psychological well-being in queer populations. Scientific Reports, 14(1). doi:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-78545-6.
Moore, K.L., Lopez, L., Camacho, D. and Munson, M.R. (2020). A Qualitative Investigation of Engagement in Mental Health Services Among Black and Hispanic LGB Young Adults. Psychiatric Services, 71(6), p.appi.ps.2019003. doi:https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201900399.
Panesar, R., Elahi, A., Greenhill, B. and Bowe, J. (2024). Navigating Cultural Landscapes: Ethnic Minority Experiences of Psychological Therapies. [online] Available at: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3184204/1/200659068_Aug2024.pdf [Accessed 20 Oct. 2025].
Stotzer, R.L., Silverschanz, P. and Wilson, A. (2013). Gender Identity and Social Services: Barriers to Care. Journal of Social Service Research, 39(1), pp.63–77. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/01488376.2011.637858.
Yasmin-Qureshi, S. and Ledwith, S. (2020). Beyond the barriers: South Asian women’s experience of accessing and receiving psychological therapy in primary care. Journal of Public Mental Health, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print). doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/jpmh-06-2020-0058.
