The power of the group: Enhancing wellbeing and positive mental health among teenagers

Background: Currently, a deficit model of mental health shapes children and young people’s experiences. Most UK interventions designed to improve mental health for this age group are adult led and dominated by a Western-driven medical model in which the emphasis is on individuals receiving mental health diagnoses. The voice of children and young people can be muted in this process. Methods: Research was completed using ethnographic-based participatory observation and longitudinal interventions designed in collaboration with pupils aged 11–16, in a secondary school over a 5-year period. By meeting once a week and later every 3 weeks, children and young people began to trust each other and feel safe to share their ideas about the direction that the therapeutic group work should take. Findings: Fieldwork highlighted ways in which receiving support as part of a group created positive shifts in individuals perceptions of themselves and each other. It also examined the contributions children and young people made to their group and raises broader questions about the role of participatory research when working in this way. Conclusion: Findings support the idea that child participation should be considered a special category of participation. They demonstrates that children and young people respond positively to working together. By the end of the 5-year period, individuals were talking differently about their emotions, felt less isolated, and were more empathetic. Some also felt liberated from thinking about their mental health as a singular diagnostic experience and had begun to develop a greater sense of positive self-worth.