Young People in Distress
An innovative package of online Youth Work and Mental Health Training Resources was launched by the Youth Affairs Network Queensland (YANQ) on 25th February 2025. For those of you who missed out on joining the launch session, here is a link to the recording: https://youtu.be/0_OPExR5Qow
And here is the link for you to access the Youth Work and Mental Health Training Resources: https://catalog.adelaide.edu.au/courses/youth-workers-and-mental-health
Background:
In October 2020, YANQ hosted an online forum focused on the role of youth workers in supporting young people with mental health issues. A key point raised by youth workers at this forum was that they felt ill equipped to assess mental health issue of young people, resulting in a large number of young people being refer to clinical mental health services.
It took YANQ a few years to secured the necessary funding (thanks to Gambling Community Benefit Fund) to proceed with developing resources that can assist youth workers when working with young people in distress and an agency level protocol for the youth sector to feel more comfortable about knowing at what stage they should refer young people to clinical mental health services.
To develop these resources, YANQ partnered with Adelaide University’s Critical and Ethical Mental Health research group which promotes safer, more effective and more ethical research and practice in mental health.
During the first stage of the project we administered a survey, holding focus groups and conducted interviews of youth workers in order to find out key issues about working with young people in distress including drivers that instigate a clinical referral. During this stage, YANQ also conducted interviews with Headspace and hospitals to attain patterns of referral by youth workers.
The data was analysed by Professor Jon Jureidini and based on the findings, an on-line training package was developed with modules containing videos, reflective exercises and templates. Jon Jureidini is a child psychiatrist who heads CEMH and the Paediatric Mental Health Training Unit (PMHTU). CEMH promotes safer, more effective and ethical research and practice in mental health. PMHTU provides training in non-pathologising approaches to mental health primary care. Jureidini is one of the most highly regarded researchers and educators in the field of mental health.
The project was made possible by with funding support from the Gambling Community Benefit Fund
And here is the link for you to access the Youth Work and Mental Health Training Resources: https://catalog.adelaide.edu.au/courses/youth-workers-and-mental-health
Background:
In October 2020, YANQ hosted an online forum focused on the role of youth workers in supporting young people with mental health issues. A key point raised by youth workers at this forum was that they felt ill equipped to assess mental health issue of young people, resulting in a large number of young people being refer to clinical mental health services.
It took YANQ a few years to secured the necessary funding (thanks to Gambling Community Benefit Fund) to proceed with developing resources that can assist youth workers when working with young people in distress and an agency level protocol for the youth sector to feel more comfortable about knowing at what stage they should refer young people to clinical mental health services.
To develop these resources, YANQ partnered with Adelaide University’s Critical and Ethical Mental Health research group which promotes safer, more effective and more ethical research and practice in mental health.
During the first stage of the project we administered a survey, holding focus groups and conducted interviews of youth workers in order to find out key issues about working with young people in distress including drivers that instigate a clinical referral. During this stage, YANQ also conducted interviews with Headspace and hospitals to attain patterns of referral by youth workers.
The data was analysed by Professor Jon Jureidini and based on the findings, an on-line training package was developed with modules containing videos, reflective exercises and templates. Jon Jureidini is a child psychiatrist who heads CEMH and the Paediatric Mental Health Training Unit (PMHTU). CEMH promotes safer, more effective and ethical research and practice in mental health. PMHTU provides training in non-pathologising approaches to mental health primary care. Jureidini is one of the most highly regarded researchers and educators in the field of mental health.
The project was made possible by with funding support from the Gambling Community Benefit Fund
