Case studies

Our collaborative work with the Wolfson Centre Youth Advisory Group has included many positive experiences since the group’s formation in 2021.

We are pleased to highlight two recent case studies which showcase the success of the ongoing collaboration between our researchers and youth advisors.

Case study: Influencing the design of our flagship clinical study trial

The main role of the Youth Advisory Group is to make recommendations on how we undertake our research.

Our youth advisors have contributed to the design of the Skills for Adolescent Wellbeing study (SWELL) study on multiple occasions, working alongside Dr Olga Eyre and Dr Vicky Powell.

Designing the study

In an initial consultation exercise, the group were given a brief introduction to the study and training on how a randomised control trial works.

The aims of the session included seeking feedback on the study name, the language used to describe the study to young people, and how the study is carried out, including, for example, the types of assessments used.

A few months later, another collaborative exercise was held with the group. This session asked the young people about their experiences of taking part in online groups and what ideas they had on running online sessions.

This feedback was used to shape the online groups that are part of the SWELL study.

Creating resources

As part of the study, participants will also receive a handbook that accompanies the sessions. The YAG provided advice on how to make it engaging, how to improve the comic strips included in the workbook, and advised that QR codes could be a good way for videos to be linked in the workbook.

This feedback was considered when developing online Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) sessions for the SWELL study and when making updates to the workbook.

Finally, the group was asked for input into several comic strips newly developed for use within the young person's workbook. The youth advisors provided feedback and suggested changes on style, content, and accessibility of the comic strips.

The SWELL team have made the suggested amendments and incorporated these new comic strips into the CBT workbook for the study.

Providing invaluable feedback to researchers

The group provided incredibly valuable feedback to the study team in the run up to launch, ensuring that the materials and overall approach are as young person centric as possible.

We are also thrilled to have one of our Advisory Group Alumni sit as a member of the independent trial steering committee.

“The youth advisors have brought refreshing perspectives and enabled us to ensure the study's intervention for young people is as inclusive, non-stigmatising, engaging and effective as it can be. We are tremendously grateful for their ongoing input.”

Jac Airdrie Clinical Psychology Lead, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences

Case study: Setting the Wolfson Centre's agenda

Our Youth Advisors do so much more than just give their opinions on how we do our research - they actively set the agenda for what we do here at the Centre.

Guiding research themes

since the group's formation, mental health stigma has been raised as a key theme for our young people.

To learn more about this, we asked George Watkins (a member of our Implementation and Engagement Board and former National Centre for Mental Health Research Champion) to run a dedicated focus group to explore our advisors' perceptions of stigma and the adverse effects it can have.

The conversation was wide reaching and elaborated on notions of structural, societal and self-stigma, as well as the potentially negative impact of labels.

Sitting on steering boards

Given the importance of this issue for our advisors, we repurposed our Implementation and Engagement Board meeting to discuss this at length. Members of the board include youth representatives, NHS clinicians, third sector partners as well as the Children’s Commissioner for Wales and advisors from Welsh Government.

Key takeaways included a commitment to ensure that the feedback informs Centre strategy at the highest level, as well as being built into our Communications strategy and integrated within our future research and dissemination plans.

The meeting concluded that mental health research in and of itself, and how it is presented, has the potential to destigmatise and challenge misconceptions.

Read more from our youth advisors on the topic of mental health stigma.

Commitment to public involvement

In line with the UK Standards for Public Involvement, we are committed to ensuring that our young people are actively involved in Centre decision making. We are looking forward to working closely with them on our future dissemination plans.