Young people can now influence their mental health services

The Ideal Social and Health Services community started a development group for mental health services for young people in March. Consisting of young people aged between 15 and 22, the group has a real influence on how services are organised and how young people from Western Uusimaa will receive support for mental health challenges in the future.  

Members for the group have been sought by open application in social media, for example. You can still join the group if you get interested! You can participate anonymously. Participants do not have to be clients of mental health services themselves. 

The development group works by discussing and performing various exercises. The discussions have sought answers to questions like the following: How would you like mental health services to be organised? What issues are important in mental health services?  

The group is led by Project Manager Petri Luomaa, who has long experience in developing mental health services for children and young people. He thinks it is great that young people are involved in the ideation process and can have an influence. 

“Usually, young people mostly settle for what they can get and don’t complain. Some of them vote with their feet, though,” Luomaa says.  

Petri Luomaa says that it is important for service providers to hear concrete experiences and thoughts directly from young people. Among other things, the young people in the group have pointed out that things must be simple. The service must be easily available and it must start clearly and understandably. There have also been wishes for a one-stop service that could tell people where to go next, if necessary.  

“None of us wants a service in which you must always know what kind of help you need, when you need it and how much you need,” Luomaa says. 

Luomaa speaks about a common misconception concerning services for young people. We often think that because young people spend time online, they also want to have their services there. He notes that the matter is not so simple.  

“When we talk about personal matters, many people may want to meet face to face, not just online.”  

Luomaa mentions an important thing that the group has realised: The whole service does not need to be online or in social media – you could just start it there or receive guidance there. “The end of the red thread, not the whole thread,” as a young person put it.  

“It is good to remember that people have different needs. There is no one right way. Some people like online communication, such as chatting,” says Petri Luomaa.  

We also discussed mental health services for young people with the youth councils of Western Uusimaa. Members of the youth councils want the services to be easily available and located nearby. It is also important that all young people and their matters are taken seriously in the services. 

It was pointed out that your friends’ experiences with services influence how you see the services and whether you start looking for help yourself.  

Members of the youth councils would like information on mental health services to be available through their own school and Instagram, for instance. 

As we mentioned earlier, you can still join the development group for mental health services for young people. If you are 15–22 years old and want to participate, please send an e-mail to Petri Luomaa for further instructions: petri.luomaa@espoo.fi  

You can also tip someone who might be interested in participating in the group.