Peer Counselling to Reduce Psychological Distress and Exposure to Violence Among Sexual and Gender Minorities

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, Asexual, and other sexually or gender diverse (LGBTIQA+) communities in many countries face high levels of mental health problems compared to the general population. This is often due to discrimination, being excluded, abuse, and unfair treatment. In many low- and middle-income countries, including Nepal, the mental health needs of LGBTIQA+ people are not met, and the violence they experience is often ignored because they are seen as breaking gender norms. The low number of trained mental health specialists in a country like Nepal imply that any short-term effort to alleviate the mental health problems among LGBTIQA+ must rely on other type of support workers such as peers. There is growing evidence that help from community members-such as counselling given by non-professionals-can improve mental well-being. Considering that discrimination of LGBTIQA+ is common also within the health services, this study will look at whether peer counselling-support provided by trained LGBTIQA+ community members-can work well in Nepal. We have improved a counselling program called 'Problem Management Plus' (PM+), developed by the World Health Organization, by adding new parts that focus on reducing the risk of some of the contributing causes of mental distress, namely violence, marginalisation and loneliness. The added components include safety planning, counselling that builds confidence and strength, and goal setting strategies to help study participants use the skills they learn and reach the desired impact. In addition, peer-led monthly group meetings will be conducted to enhance social cohesion, strengthen interpersonal networks, and reduce feeling of loneliness. The study uses a community based participatory research approach, meaning LGBTIQA+ people are invited to give inputs throughout the study from study design to being involved as peer advocates to deliver the counselling. The trial will recruit at least 960 LGBTIQA+ individuals aged 18 to 55 years living in seven districts of Nepal. Study participants will be randomly allocated to one of three arms: one arm receiving individual augmented PM+ counselling with six weekly sessions; one arm receiving the individual augmented PM+ counselling followed by 11 monthly group sessions; and one control arm. There will be a one year follow-up to examine whether the peer support helps improve mental health and reduce exposure to violence among LGBTIQA+ people. The study findings will help guide programmes to improve the mental health of LGBTIQA+ in other low- and middle-income countries where they also experience discrimination, exclusion, and violence.

NCT Number	NCT06979193
Lead Sponsor	Public Health and Environment Research Centre (PERC), Nepal Collaborators: Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, Blue Diamond Society, Nepal, Sahayatri Samaj, Parsa, Friends Hetauda, Makwanpur, Pahichan Nepal, Sarlahi, Manab Sachet Samaj, Chitwan, Sunaulo Bihani Samaj, Dhanusha, CruiseAIDS Nepal, Kathmandu, Parichaya Samaj, Lalitpur
Conditions	Mental Health, Psychological Distress, Secondary Violence Reduction, Discrimination, Sexual and Gender Minorities, Minority Groups, Homosexuality, Domestic Violence +1 more
Enrollment	960 participants
Start Date	2025-05-20
Primary Completion	2026-12-31 (estimated)
Study Completion	2027-04-30 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-02-18