How do young people understand emotional distress?
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring young peoples’ conceptualisation of emotional distress: A Foucauldian Discourse Analysis
IRAS ID
322465
Contact name
Peter Kinderman
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Liverpool
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 1 months, 30 days
Research summary
Within the field of mental health, there are divergent views held by professionals and service users on how emotional distress is best conceptualised. The medical model is the current dominant paradigm within mental health services in the UK. Within this framework, emotional difficulties are categorised under diagnostic labels identified within classificatory systems such as the International Classification of Diseases-11 (ICD-11), for example, 'Major Depressive Disorder'. Treatment decisions are then grounded on the identified diagnostic category. Critics of the medical model argue that diagnostic categories lack scientific and clinical utility while pathologising what might be conceptualised as understandable distress in the context of difficult circumstances. Alternative formulation-based approaches have been proposed. These aim to integrate psychological knowledge with the individual's experiences to develop an individualised, shared understanding of the difficulty.
While diagnostic- and formulation-based frameworks are widely debated within professional circles, there is limited research on how the young people who access child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) whose difficulties are understood within these frameworks conceptualise their difficulties. These conversations are, however, taking place outside of academia, on social media platforms such as TikTok, where hashtags including #CAMHS and #CAMHSkids host an array of videos in which young people discuss identification with psychiatric labels and frustrations at not receiving formal diagnoses.
This study is being conducted in partial fulfilment of and is funded by the doctorate in clinical psychology programme at the University of Liverpool. Through qualitative interviews with young people aged between 13 and 17, it aims to explore how they conceptualise the difficulties that lead them to access support from mental health services and the factors underlying these understandings. In doing so, we hope to improve our understanding of the needs of young people who access services and emphasise their voices in discussions related to service design.REC name
London - Bloomsbury Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/LO/0295
Date of REC Opinion
31 May 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion