Learning to listen: Creating meaningful psychosis literacy interventions for young people; “No sugar-coating!”

Purpose This paper aims to explore whether the concept of psychosis literacy is useful as the basis for educational interventions to improve young people’s educational and health needs. School-based mental health literacy (MHL) programmes aim to reduce young people’s stigma and increase help-seeking behaviour, to improve young people’s educational attainment, relationships and physical wellbeing. Psychosis, however, remains one of the most stigmatised mental health conditions but remains largely ignored within MHL interventions. Design/methodology/approach The study was designed as a qualitative study exploring young people’s (aged 16–17) psychosis literacy needs utilising both adult researcher (AR)- and peer researcher (PR)-led focus group sessions in two Further Education Colleges in the North East of England. Data was then analysed using a process of thematic analysis. Findings The influence of demand characteristics has added new understanding of how young people construct social, cultural and personal meanings attached to psychosis. This has challenged the biomedical interpretation of being “illiterate” and informed what literacy interventions may be more meaningful for young people. Research limitations/implications What are the implications for practice: Educational and Health Care professionals need to become more aware of young people’s educational/health needs and not assume they know what is best. The young person’s voice needs to be heard and valued, which means further engagement and involvement with young people in the creation of mental health literacy interventions. This research, for example, has illustrated the need to re-evaluate literacy interventions that have aimed to decrease stigma. Young people have questioned the truthfulness of such anti-stigma strategies, and instead have placed more value on wanting to understand the true lived experience of psychosis without any sugar-coating. Originality/value Study findings highlight that psychosis literacy is relevant for young people and that professionals need to provide psychosis literacy strategies that are more meaningful for the young person.