Creating participation for youth with mental health problems

Partnerships and co-production across welfare sectors has become a popular policy discourse and a prescription for many professionals across a wide range of public services.

However, there is still a lack of empirical studies investigating practices where professionals, volunteers and young adults with mental health problems collaborate and interact in the daily work.

This report is an important contribution to this gab in the literature. The empirical data consist of ethnographic field notes and 60 interviews with leaders, professionals, volunteers, and young adults with mental health problems. The analysis shows that the new practices across sectors create a complex environment with both possibilities and barriers for creating participation and positive change for the young adults with mental health problems.

Furthermore, the report concludes that the cross sector collaborations and co-production create new forms of work roles and positions for the welfare professionals and volunteers within the practice. On the basis of this analysis the report contributes with a number of concrete recommendations on how policymakers and practitioners can work and further develop this field.