Youth engagement is at the heart of local mental health service networks for young people around the world.

While there’s growing evidence that these accessible services are effective, we still need to pay more attention to how youth interact with service providers during one on one meeting.

One important ethical challenge is related to the extent to which interactions between practitioners and youth are recognizing and responding to youths’ experiences. How is youth knowledge of themselves, their context, and their needs used to make sense of complex practice situations? By offering a clear idea of what youth participation within a mental health care encounter looks like and the ‘winning’ conditions to support it, this project will contribute to practice-based scholarship in social work and youth mental health praxis by combining reflection and action to generate knowledge and ultimately transform that practice.