What’s the project?
The study aims to explore the experiences of waiting for mental health services from the perspective of young people who self-harm. It hopes to gain an understanding of interim alternative strategies these young people utilise and their experiences of these, as well as identifying areas for improvement. It is hoped this study will help to make improvements to NHS services to support young people who self-harm whilst they are waiting for mental health support.
A qualitative methodology utilising one-to-one semi-structured interviews will be employed to capture detailed data about the experiences of waiting for mental health services from 15 participants from Northwest England. Thematic analysis will be utilised to analyse the data and understand experiences shared. This means the researcher will examine the transcripts of the interviews to identify common themes, topics, and ideas that repeatedly come up.
The study has received approval from the University of Liverpool Doctorate in Clinical Psychology Research Review Committee, in addition to ethical approval from the West Midlands – Coventry & Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee on behalf of the NHS Health Research Authority. The study is sponsored by the University of Liverpool.
Find out more
We are asking for 15 young people to take part in a one off individual one-to-one interview up to 1 hour long to talk about their experience waiting for NHS mental health services. There will also be an optional wellbeing check in following the interview. The interview can be conducted online via Microsoft Teams or in person at University of Liverpool. For participants under 18 years old parent/guardian consent will also be required.
The eligibility criteria are as follows:
- Aged 12-18 years old.
- Waited for NHS mental health services for 4 weeks or more in the past 3 years (this is from the time you were referred to when treatment/intervention started).
- A main reason for the referral (reason you were seeking support) was self-harm (For this study we are defining self-harm as taking physical action against yourself with aim to cause harm to yourself).
- You waited for support from one of the following NHS services:
o Knowsley Children and Young People’s Mental Health Service
o Halton Children and Young People’s Mental Health Service
o Warrington Children and Young People’s Mental Health Service
o St Helen’s Children and Young People’s Mental Health Service
o Liverpool Children and Young People’s Mental Health Service
o Sefton Children and Young People’s Mental Health Service
o Wirral Children and Young People’s Mental Health Service
o Cheshire East Children and Young People’s Mental Health Service
o Cheshire West Children and Young People’s Mental Health Service
- You can understand and communicate in English.
- You should have already received some support that you were initially referred for (you can still be receiving this).
- You do not still need to be engaging in self-harm to take part but if you are this is ok. You just need to not be currently receiving inpatient mental health care and/or actively suicidal, or self-harming to the extent you have required medical attention in the past month. This is just so we can make sure the study isn’t too distressing and that we can keep you safe.
If you are aged under 18 years old we will need parent/guardian consent too.
For everyone that takes part we will need the contact details of a health care professional to let them know you are taking part, e.g., your GP or care co-ordinator at the children and young people’s mental health service.
Following the interview a £15 shopping voucher will be sent to you. If you attend the interview in person any travel costs such as bus ticket will be reimbursed via bank transfer.
If you become upset during the study we will have contact details for services that can provide support and may contact your parent/guardian and/or healthcare professional if needed.
If you need any adjustments to support in you taking part we will try our best to provide these too.
If you are interested in this opportunity, please email [email protected] with brief answers to the following questions:
1. What is your name?
2. What is your date of birth?
3. Are you based in the North West England?
4. Please give details of how you meet the eligibility criteria.
5. Sometimes after talking about topics like mental health, people feel they need a little extra support or someone to chat to. What support do you currently have in place (e.g. supportive friends, family, health professionals or mental health charities)?
6. How did you hear about this opportunity?
7. What is the best way for us to contact you? Please provide details e.g., telephone number, email etc.
You are welcome to send your responses in audio or video format if preferred. If you need any help completing your expression of interest, you can get in touch with Amy Grosvenor via [email protected]
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9am 1st May 2025
Please note that the McPin Foundation regularly promotes opportunities on behalf of other institutions; we are not responsible for the continuation or contents of further correspondence with any project partners where we are not listed as the project main point of contact.
