The term minority stress originated within research from the LGBTQ community. Minority stress is additional stress that members of marginalised groups experience, because of the prejudice and discrimination they face, day to day. There’s obviously a social and cultural connotation, and there’s often lots of intersectionality within minority stress. For example, a black woman may experience comparatively more marginalisation than her white peers at a particular job interview; but if this is compounded by her gender diversity and / or neurodiversity, the levels of minority stress she may experience due to having to address the various degrees of her marginalisation on a day to day basis, are increased.
Therapy for minority stress
Cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy for minority stress can help in similar ways as when Hypno-CBT is used for anxiety; e.g. showing clients coping skills and giving resilience training; working on unhelpful beliefs; building esteem and autonomy; building a less-heightened autonomic nervous system; and developing a mentality of personal abundance rather than scarcity, etc.
CBT-based therapies are often seen as being useful for helping clients with minority stress, as within this modality, we’re looking at facilitating ‘restructuring of cognitions’, such as expectations of rejection, and also sometimes internalised homophobia, racism or ableism (for example). (Ref.) As discussed elsewhere within our articles, cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy is generally adapted, if a client is neurodivergent.
If you have any queries about therapy for minority stress, contact me for a no obligation, free 15 minute chat, at arrivetherapy@protonmail.com
Kathy Carter
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