Reflecting on Youth Participation in Mental Health Research: Lessons From the Consell de Joves in Catalonia

Participatory approaches in youth and adolescent mental health research are increasingly recognised as important for producing research that is relevant, ethical, and responsive to young people's experiences. However, research remains shaped by adult-centred structures that can limit young people's influence and reproduce inequities in whose knowledge is recognised. This article presents a reflexive account of the development and implementation of the Consell de Joves (CJ), a youth advisory council embedded within a 3-year mental health research project in Catalonia, Spain (2023-2025). The CJ involved young people across study design, development of research instruments, interpretation of findings, and dissemination. Drawing on established frameworks for youth participation, we reflect on five areas of practice: ethics, safeguarding, and power considerations; recruitment and composition; meeting logistics and participation; youth involvement in research design and dissemination; and ongoing reflection and feedback. We examine how principles of meaningful participation were operationalized, including areas of alignment, tensions, and adaptations. The experience highlighted both the possibilities and limitations of youth participation within institutionally constrained research environments. Flexible engagement, attention to psychological safety, and opportunities for meaningful input supported participation and peer exchange. However, structural barriers related to time, travel, socioeconomic circumstances, and institutional schedules constrained participation. Persistent tensions also emerged around adult-youth power relations, representation, remuneration, and the extent of youth influence within an adult-led research structure. Reflecting critically on the CJ illustrates how principles of youth participation can be translated into practice while revealing the structural conditions that may constrain their implementation. We provide two practical resources: a reflective journal of recommendations and a step-by-step roadmap with critical questions to support more equitable youth participation. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Young people participated in the design, conduct, interpretation and dissemination of the broader mental health research project through the Consell de Joves (Youth Advisory Council). Council members contributed to shaping research questions, refining interview guides and study materials, interpreting research findings, and advising on dissemination strategies and outputs. They also provided feedback on their experiences of participating in the CJ, which informed the research team's ongoing reflection. However, the present manuscript is a retrospective reflective account developed by the research team. CJ members were not involved in the formal analysis or interpretation of the reflective material concerning the council itself, nor in the development or writing of this manuscript. Their contributions to the broader project and feedback on the CJ experience are acknowledged throughout the paper.