Abstract
•Youth mental health support in Global South Countries should be concurrently addressed at the inter-linked relational, systems and structural levels.•Forming meaningful connections are central to accessing such support.•Youth with mental health lived experience should be incorporated in the planning, implementation and evaluation of services.
Youth mental health support and services vary across sociocultural contexts. It is important to capture the perspectives of youth with lived experiences for planning needs-led interventions and services, especially in Global South Countries (GSC), with limited specialist resources and representative literature.
The aim was to establish how youth with lived experiences of anxiety and depression viewed external support in different countries, and how these views were juxtaposed with those of professionals. We involved 121 youth aged 14–24 years and 62 professionals from different disciplines in eight countries, predominantly from the Global South. Two youth and one professional focus group was facilitated in each country. The data were analysed through a codebook thematic approach.
Youth across all countries largely valued informal support from family, peers and community, whilst those from GSC had limited access to structural support. They related lived experiences to therapeutic engagement and processes, in contrast with professionals who focused on outcomes and service delivery. Mental health awareness and integration of interventions with social support were considered essential by both youth and professionals, especially in disadvantaged communities.
The mental health needs of youth in disadvantaged GSC communities can be best met through multi-modal interventions addressing these needs across their socioecology and positioned within a stepped care model. Youth with lived experiences should be involved in service planning, implementation and monitoring.