ABSTRACT

Participation in Children and Young People's Mental Health: An Essential Guide aims to break down the historical challenges surrounding children and young people's mental health (CYPMH) participation.

It explores topics from how to conceptualise participation to more practical advice and guidance surrounding how to 'do' participation. Uniquely edited by Experts-by-Experience, it offers useful insights to how participation ought to be led from those with experience in the field. This ground-breaking text is supported by contributors from leading experts, including a mixture of lived experience and academic persepctives, providing a comprehensive dive into key concepts and practical examples to help improve practice. The chapters aim to spark thinking, conversations, and actions in participation and will provide lessons to embed into services, organisations, areas, groups, practice, and work.

This text is an essential guide for trainees and professionals working in CYPMH services which includes the NHS in England, voluntary sector, and other health systems internationally.

Foreword  1. Introduction  2. What is Participation? A Theoretical Framework for Children and Young People's Participation  3. Tokenism Versus Meaningful Engagement  4. The Benefits and Challenges of Participation for Children and Young People  5. The Benefits and Challenges of Participation for Children and Young People's Mental Health Services and Those Working Within Them  6. Involving Children and Young People in their Own Care  7. A Guide to Parent and Carer Participation  8. Involving Children, Young People, Parents and Carers in Service Development  9. Involving Children and Young People in Mental Health Research  10. Involving Younger Children  11. Engaging with Diverse Communities  12. Participation in the Community Versus Inpatient Settings  13. Peer Support: An Alternative Approach to Using Lived Experience  14. Why Participation Requires Systemic Culture Change and How We Get There  15. Future Progress  Index