Young men’s experiences of accessing and receiving help from child and adolescent mental health services following self-harm

Abstract

Given the high rates of completed suicide and poor help-seeking among young men, this research explored how young men, who had successfully sought help from a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), experienced helpseeking. The study focused on the factors that facilitated initial access and ongoing engagement in services. Eight young men between the ages of 16 to 18, who had entered CAMHS following self-harm or suicidal ideation, and who were engaged in ongoing therapy, were recruited. Each young man was interviewed to elicit his personal experiences of help-seeking and help-receiving. Interviews were transcribed and subjected to Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Four superordinate themes, which overarched participant’s individual experiences, emerged from the data: Role of external adult in recognizing, normalizing, and initiating help-seeking; challenging and renegotiating perception of need for help and meaning behind this need; maintaining an independent self; and mechanisms of engagement. Help-seeking was described as a journey of two stages: (a) initial access and (b) ongoing engagement, during which the presence and timing of external influences (parents, teachers) and internal influences (personal beliefs and attitudes) were crucial. A model of help-seeking in young men who self-harmed was developed, which considered both access and engagement to help, and combined a consideration of internal and external influences on their ability to access help.