Wellness Quest
Accessing the mental health system can be overwhelming for young people, especially for those seeking care for the first time. Services are often described in clinical language that youth don’t understand and few options for other available services are offered. As a result, young people have little opportunity to advocate for their own mental health care needs and interests.
Working with youth researchers from CAMH's National Youth Action Council, the Wellness Quest project team will consult with young people across Canada to finalize a resource that helps them understand the services available in their communities; and provide youth with the means to advocate for the services they feel best suit their needs. This youth-written resource consists of a checklist and a guide. The checklist helps young people identify issues and services most important to them, which they can then share with service providers. The guide explains these issues and services in an engaging, easy-to-navigate format, with youth-friendly language and including questions youth may have for service providers.
Developed by youth for youth, the goal of the Wellness Quest project is to move young people from the role of patient to partner in their own mental health care. This project will:
- Develop a final version of the Wellness Quest resource that reflects the feedback provided by Canadian youth
- Disseminate the Wellness Quest resource to youth across Canada using a strategy identified by participants as most effective for young people
- Demonstrate a research design that positions young people as natural leaders, researchers and participants