What do young people and parents think about local anti-stigma mental health campaigns?
Submitted by Jonny Beavis
Photo by Kyle Smith on Unsplash
We (NHS Luton CAMHS) wanted to learn more about our local community’s opinions of a Luton-based anti-stigma campaign called Stick Around.
Stick Around is an ongoing anti-stigma mental health campaign informed by the Power Threat Meaning Framework. This framework is a new way of understanding mental health that asks different questions to traditional medical models. Rather than asking “What’s wrong with you?”, the framework asks “What happened to you, how did it affect you, what sense did you make of it, and what did you have to do to survive?”.
We held two focus groups with Luton-based young people and parents to ask their opinions on preliminary posters produced for Stick Around, and discovered the following:
Who to target in the community: While groups felt this campaign should target the whole community, they also wanted a focus on boys and men.
Specific critiques of poster: Some posters were misinterpreted, so edits were recommended.
Aspects of the community affecting uptake: There was pessimism about how messages may be received by the community, with some suggesting workshops could be poorly attended or disrupted.
Message falling short: Groups felt that the intended behaviour change (less stigma) wasn’t needed, because there wasn’t mental health stigma in their community.
Not just who but how: Groups suggested separate interactive workshops for boys and girls, and using social media videos to improve campaign delivery.
These findings informed how we decided to implement Stick Around, including the role of men and boys in anti-stigma campaigns, and how we discuss campaigns based on non-traditional frameworks to communities, as they don’t necessarily reflect how mental health is discussed in everyday life.
I’m a young person – what does this mean for me?
Supporting someone through emotional distress does not only have to take the form of professional mental health support. Being supportive, curious and Sticking Around for members of your community is just as important as diagnosis, assessment and treatment of emotional distress by professionals (sometimes more so). There are other ways to understand psychological distress which are not based on medical or psychiatric narratives.
I’m a parent - what does this mean for me?
Men and boys can sometimes contribute to mental health stigma. Support for community members going through hard times or emotional distress does not only have to take the form of professional mental health support. Being supportive, curious and Sticking Around for members of your community is just as important as diagnosis, assessment and treatment of mental health difficulties by professionals (sometimes more so). There are other ways to understand psychological distress which are not based on medical or psychiatric narratives.
I’m a clinician – what does this mean for me?
Clinicians have an important role to play in expanding and changing current conversation about mental health. Sometimes that means being creative and looking at preventative and community-based support which is not rooted in psychiatric or psychological support. Power Threat Meaning can offer alternative frameworks for understanding distress, but community members need interactive and creative means of delivery to understand these concepts.