Young people’s participation in their own mental health care:
Session-by-session feedback in youth mental health services (headspace)
Abstract
Introduction. Young people’s participation in their own mental
healthcare requires ways for them to provide feedback to their
clinicians on how they are experiencing their treatment. Key dimensions
of session experience are willingness to attend, feeling listened to and
understood, working on issues important to them, feeling hopeful for the
future, and feeling that things are improving in their lives. This study
reports on young people’s session experiences over time and by key
demographics for headspace youth mental health services.
Methods. The sample comprised 16,484 young people aged 12 to 25
years who commenced an episode of care at one of the 150 headspace
centres between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2022 and who had attended at
least two services. Data were collected via the routinely collected
headspace minimum data set. Results. Overall, young people
reported very positive session experiences over all the session
dimensions. Few demographic differences were found: session ratings were
more positive for young adults (18+ years) compared with adolescents
(under 18 years). Scores on all five dimensions improved with more
visits, and willingness to attend and working on issues important to the
young person were strong predictors of service engagement. Better
session experience scores were associated with more positive ratings of
quality of life. Conclusion. Young people experience their
headspace sessions very positively, and more positive experiences are
associated with better service engagement and quality of life. Routinely
collecting session feedback gives young people a valuable way to
participate in and inform their own care.