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Youth Voices Transform UK Mental Health Care
22 Feb
Summary
- Young people are actively shaping NHS children's services.
- Advisers create resources like booklets and toolkits for patients.
- Experts by experience now number 48 and are increasing.
Young individuals with firsthand experience of mental health challenges are now instrumental in enhancing NHS children's services across Devon and Torbay. These 'young advisers' leverage their personal journeys to influence various aspects of care, from developing patient resources to participating in staff interviews. Their active role signifies a shift towards valuing lived experience in shaping healthcare.
Gracie, who spent four years as an inpatient for anorexia and also faced PTSD and autism, developed a booklet on destress tolerance skills and a toolkit of coping mechanisms for inpatients. She emphasizes the need for psychological input alongside physical health management in eating disorder care.
By December 2025, 48 experts by experience had joined the initiative, contributing to 78 recruitment interviews in the preceding year. Sage, Emily, and Zero, also young advisers, highlighted how their feedback is now being considered, leading to a more responsive service. They are working with clinicians on improving physical and mental health services, including making information about autism assessments and self-referral forms more accessible, and aiding in the design of Dialectical Behavior Therapy programs.
