An exploration of meaning and wellbeing benefits from poetry within global majority LGBTQ+ people

Abstract

Section A
This review explored how poetry and storytelling might impact and illustrate wellbeing and healing at the intersection of race, gender and sexuality. Through exploring poetry and narratives, it examined potential benefits of poetry and sharing narratives of LGBTQ+ People of the global majority (PoGM). In this review, the term LGBTQ+ is used for consistency, with the “+” limited to identities explicitly represented in the six included papers (e.g. Two-spirit and non-binary identities and others identifying as being non-heterosexual, non-cisgender, or both).

Six empirical papers were retrieved through systematic narrative review using the following databases: PubMed, ASSIA, Web of Science, APA Psynet, Ovid and Open Dissertations. Thematic analysis was used, and six main themes and 14 subthemes were identified.

Poetry and storytelling were found to amplify voices and improve relationships between services and PoGM LGBTQ+ individuals. Poetry appeared to play a transformative role in fostering self-acceptance, building awareness, healing and united solidarity, whereas co-creation between participants and researchers resulted in a better understanding of lived marginalised experiences. Individual understanding of LGBTQ+ identities was an identified need, additionally within religious spaces and the complexities of negotiating these. LGBTQ+ individuals proposed poetry as beneficial for support groups, stimulating understanding of issues of gender, sexual orientation, and challenging oppressive narratives.

Results suggested that amplifying LGBTQ+ PoGM voices through poetry and narratives may create more nuanced and accessible ways of generating inclusive research and service improvement while reducing mistrust, improving their overall wellbeing.

Section B
Research concerning the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) community has predominately centred on distress and an exploration of White participant narratives. This study explored the perceived meaning and therapeutic impact of poetry for LGBTQI+ (where the “+” signifies non-binary, fluid and pansexual identities) PoGM (people of the global majority) in the UK.

Reflexive thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006, 2024) using a combination of inductive and deductive approaches was used to analyse data from 18 interviews, culminating in the identification of 21 subthemes across the five tasks of the EFECT (Engaging, Feeling, Exploring, Connecting and transferring) model (Alfrey et al., 2021).

Findings suggest that poetry plays a crucial role as a creative and therapeutic tool for LGBTQI+ PoGM, offering an important avenue for emotional processing, self-expression and collective unification. Moreover, the study offered empirical support for the existing theoretical model describing the mechanisms of poetry therapy (the EFECT model), whilst also highlighting the models’ utility and affording the opportunity for the emergence of salient themes, which, upon analysis, displayed a notable consistency with the Minority Stress Model (Meyer, 2003), especially pertaining to the distinctive stressors experienced by LGBTQ+ PoGM.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	English