“Sometimes you do need to learn how to live”: Core Needs in Youth Mental Healthcare — Exploring Opportunities for Improving Service Provision

Introduction: Youth mental health and suicide are connected health issues of global priority that require timely and evidence-based interventions to prevent death, reduce health disparities and improve quality of life. Global literature reports low rates of professional help-seeking for a mental health problem (MHP) during youth (10-25 years) and there is a need to understand ‘why?’. This study aimed to further understanding on young people’s core needs in mental healthcare in partnership with young people with lived experience of help-seeking for a MHP.

Methods: Constructivist Grounded Theory (Charmaz, 2014) and the BPS Code of Human Research Ethics (2014) informed this research. In-depth interviews (n=14) and one focus group (n=6) took place with young people aged 16-25 years. Data collection and analysis were also informed by Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model (1994) and help-seeking frameworks by Chan (2013) and Cornally & McCarthy (2011).

Findings: Findings present rich data on: 1. The services; 2. The helper; 3. The interventions, and 4. The impact of development. A critical discussion on the role of service factors, approach of and rapport with helpers, types of intervention and alignment with typical developmental capacity were offered. Recommendations to improve, design, or reform current provision were developed for practitioners, policy and research.

Conclusion: To facilitate professional help-seeking for a MHP, working in partnership with young people is central to ensuring that mental healthcare provision is relevant, respectful and developmentally suitable, reflecting the way in which young people experience a MHP and the ways in which they want to be helped.