Open Access

Carmen S. Lienen, Andrea Monika Frisch, Agostino Mazziotta and Anette Rohmann present and analyze the photo voice method as a tool to engage and empower people living in marginalized communities. Photo voice is a community-based action research method that allows clients to visually document their everyday lives, particularly with regards to community struggles over needs, issues and strategies aimed at practical solutions for the community. Regarding the third mission of social work, that is to address social inequality, social justice and social change, the authors argue that the method provides clients with a lifeworld orientation, promotes the development of social workers’ sensitivity to diversity, and strengthens the relationship between clients and providers.

Based on an integration of socioecological systems and intergroup contact theory, we hypothesized that the context in which intergroup contact takes place moderates its association with attitudes toward refugees. To test this prediction, majority members in Germany reported in three studies (Ntotal = 695) how often they have had positive and negative direct and indirect contact with refugees in different contexts and their attitudes toward refugees. While the association between direct contact and intergroup attitudes was relatively context-independent, the association between indirect contact and attitudes toward refugees strongly depended on context. Indirect contact was more strongly associated with attitudes toward refugees in contexts with close relationships (family and friends) than in contexts with distanced relationships (newspaper and TV).

Background: Mental health professionals play a crucial role in either alleviating or exacerbating stress among queer clients. Aims: Drawing on minority stress theory, we conducted a study to examine the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or consensually non-monogamous clients with current or recent psychotherapy or counselling experiences in Germany. Method: A convenience sample of 492 queer individuals participated in an online survey, providing insights into their most recent experiences with psychotherapy or counselling and evaluating the success of these processes. Among the participants, 92% identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or another non-heterosexual identity, while 8% identified as heterosexual. Additionally, 54% reported being in consensually non-monogamous relationships, and 23% identified as gender-diverse. Results: The majority (92%) had prior experience with psychotherapy, with over half reporting their last session within the last month. The remaining 8% reported counselling experience. Most participants rated their recent psychotherapy or counselling process as successful. Exemplary practices were more common than inappropriate ones. While overt discrimination by mental health professionals was rare, subtle inappropriate behaviours were still prevalent. Affirmative and actively reassuring practices were strongly linked to subjective therapy success. Conclusion: The study's findings warrant cautious optimism regarding a non-discriminative stance in German mental health professionals while highlighting the need for further research, training and guidelines for therapists and counsellors.