Effectiveness of peer counseling in addressing psychological distress and exposure to violence among LGBTI population in Nepal

Sexual minorities in many low and middle income countries face discrimination, marginalization and abuse. They have a higher risk of mental health problems than the majority population, but often have little access to mental health services. This project will examine the effect of training peer educators from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) community in Nepal to provide psychological counselling to their peers who suffer from mental distress.

The programme question is whether psychological counselling and safety planning by peers can reduce mental distress and exposure to violence among LGBTI individuals in a low income setting like Nepal. 

We will conduct a randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of psychological counselling and safety planning.