Mental health recovery from a youth rights perspective
Coming up this week!
Lemsnjeess
TheProject
This is a research project that mobilizes a participatory photovoice methodology.
That is, we work closely with a community partner, Espaces Jeunes at Prise II, and with the youth participants, to define a question that participants will answer using photography. The question that was co-constructed is “what does mental health recovery mean for me?”
Participants, aged between 14 and 35 years, then take photos with their phones, a camera, or a disposable camera that answers this question. Then, in a series of workshops, we talk about how the images help us better understand what mental health recovery for youth might mean. We do this using a specific photovoice method called SHOWeD (Wang et al., 1998) to reflect critically on the photos and on their experience of taking the photos.
Why are wedoing this?
There is scant information on how young people aged 14 to 35 understand ‘mental health recovery’ and very little is known about what meaning recovery carries for young people experiencing mental health concerns.
Much of the current research on mental health recovery and the explanations of ‘what is recovery’ are based on the experiences of adults.
Ourobjectives
We aim to develop a more complete understanding of mental health recovery from the point of view of young people, taking into account their rights (e.g., right to privacy, right to speak and give one’s opinion, right to consent to services, etc.) and their interests.
How are wedoing this?
We conducted photovoice workshops at Espace Jeunes at Prise II with young people aged 17 to 35. In connection with the photographs they take, we discuss what mental health, recovery, rights, well-being, connection mean for them.
Some of the things that they have shared are:
- Importance not to get stuck in the past
- Need to have mental health services to help when they are doing well, not just in crisis
- The crucial role of nature, and access to parks, in feeling well
- The importance of a secure, stable living space
- Feeling misunderstood by workers from an older generation
- The importance of having space to be different, be themselves
What's Next
Data analysis and writing up of results is ongoing. Stay tuned for updates
Over the coming months, the exhibition “Finding light in the dark : youth perspectives on mental health recovery” will be on display in various institutions across Montreal North.
