Dr Keri Wong Hi everyone, I’m Dr Keri Wong, an  Associate Professor of Developmental Psychology   at UCL, and the Lead Investigator  of the EMPOWER-Islington project.   We’ll be talking about how we co-created  mental health and life skill workshops   with and for young people currently living  in Islington Council, London. Meet my team. Sude Isil Bastug Hi everyone, My name is  Isil. I am a final year BSc Psychology with   Education student at UCL, and I was a Research  Assistant in the EMPOWER-Islington project. Jasmine Lee Hi, I’m Jasmine. I’m a first  year UCL Wellcome Trust PhD student in Mental   Health Science, and I was also working on the  EMPOWER-Islington project as a Research Assistant. Areeb Ahmed Hello, My name’s Areeb, a young  participant of the EMPOWER-Islington study, and   ex-Deputy Young Mayor and Lead Youth Councillor  for Youth Safety and Curriculum for Islington. Dr Keri Wong So, the EMPOWER-Islington project  is the – is a partnership project between UCL and   Islington Council. It involved creating and  co-creating five workshops that help support   young people and their life skills in terms  of mental health and various aspects, as well.   These five workshops involved empowering young  people in telling and sharing their own story.   It involved empowering their minds. It empower –  it involved empowering their body, as many of them   struggled with body image issues as well during  the pandemic, as well as empowering their future,   so thinking a bit more about what it is that  they want to do career wise. And then, finally,   the fifth workshop focused on empowering their  habits, in particular, sleep habits and motivation   to study and continue learning. So, each of these  five workshops were conducted over a summer and   involved co-creating the content, as well as the  workshops, with young people, for young people. Jasmine Lee   I think researching mental challenges with  young people creates tonnes of opportunities,   because when you're involving young people  in research, you're actually talking to   them about what their priorities are, what  their challenges are, instead of, I guess,   in the past, a lot of research was about young  people without directly engaging with them.   And so actually researching with young people  helps research improve, because it makes what   we’re studying more accurate and more attuned to  what young people’s needs are. At the same time,   I think it creates also lots of  opportunities for young people to   participate in research. It almost, kind of,  democratises research and then opens doors   for young people to also get involved,  which I think is of great opportunity. Areeb Ahmed For me, personally, I would  say that it’s allowed me to – well, the   EMPOWER-Islington project and  just researching mental health   in general was able – has allowed me to  be able to feedback to Islington Council   and implement changes that I think would be  necessary for the young people of Islington. Sude Isil Bastug It is really important  to give young people a voice in this topic,   because young people feel  that these topics are not   talked a lot anymore. And a lot of the young  people that participated and worked with us   in our project really appreciated giving them a  space to talk about their pandemic experiences,   because they believe that they didn’t have a  chance before to talk about these experiences and   reflect back to them. So, they really appreciated  having a space to talk about these experiences. Jasmine Lee I think for me, it was really  fun to do research as a young person and to   participate in interviews and focus groups and  have lots of chats with young people about what   their COVID experiences were, but also, to  be aware of the differences in experiences   that different young people had and being aware  that because of inequalities that some people   were more disproportionately affected by it than  others. So, it was really important and a great   experience to learn more about that, but I also  think that because we are young people ourselves,   it made it a bit easier to talk to other young  people and to just have a chat and have snacks   together, which made it less daunting in terms  of research. But it was also really interesting   and rewarding to participate in different  aspects of research, including dissemination,   whether it’s doing animations or going to  conferences, so it was a great experience. Sude Isil Bastug I would definitely second  Jasmine. I also really enjoyed being part   of a research project as a young Researcher,  I would say, and I also believe that it was   really interesting to hear young people’s  experiences about pandemic, and it was   really interesting to see that some of us had  similar experiences. For example, I was one of   the few lucky ones and I had actually a positive  pandemic experience, and it was really nice that   some of the young people also had some positive  experience. I think it gave me a hope, at least,   and, also, I think it gave me an opportunity to  be a part of a research project in real life,   like, from be – from the beginning ‘til the  end, and this wasn’t something that I had   experienced before, especially in my modules.  So, I had an opportunity to see, like,   the challenges of real life research and, also, it  helped me shape my future career, as well, because   I decided that this was a path that I will like to  take in the future. So, it was really rewarding. Areeb Ahmed Okay, so what I would say about how  it was, like, it was a very new experience, like,   very special to me, as well, ‘cause a lot of the  people in my age category and younger and older,   they don’t experience research until they’re,  like, above, like, sort of like, 20-ish. And   because of that, I felt as if I was able to, I  guess have an opportunity that not many people   are able to have, so I really enjoyed working  alongside the Researchers. And what I would say,   the informa – like, generally, the information  that was given worked quite well, and how it   was delivered, too, through the activities.  And I would say as - what could be improved   would possibly be, like, the advertising  and marketing, because the yield of the   amount of young people that had come wasn’t as  many as I feel the Researchers could've had. Dr Keri Wong So, the short and long-term  impacts of COVID on young people, especially   on their mental health, was definitely widely  researched by the community. I would say some   of the short-term impacts, especially during  the lockdown period and phases of COVID,   you know, really restricted young  people’s normal social lives, their   normal relationships, and even character  and personality developments, as well as,   of course, education, as well. So, you know, many  Researchers have documented this, showing the,   kind of, more negative effects and impacts  on young people’s mental health more broadly. Obviously, this fluctuates, and when we look  at this at a more longer term period of time,   certain groups definitely rebound or  are better, have better mental health   after lockdown easing takes place and when  they’re able to regain their liberties   and socialise with others again, but  certainly a subgroup of young people   certainly have sustained negative impacts. And  that’s really why it’s so important, still,   you know, now that we’re, kind of, out of COVID,  without maybe even the lockdown restrictions,   there are still certain subgroups that are  still impa – negatively impacted by COVID.   And that’s why studies like this, where we get  to hear from young people themselves, are so,   so important in ensuring that much of this  information is still relevant and valuable   forming the support that we’re able to provide  them in schools, in communities and so forth. Areeb Ahmed What I would say is that the amount  of space that’s available for young people to   access mental healthcare, because there is a very  big amount of pressure on the amount of, like,   services that we have, due to the amount  of young people that require it. And so,   because of that, a lot of young  people that need it, but not as,   I guess you could say not as much as other  young people, aren’t able to access it. And so,   I guess the – yeah, I guess the five workshops  were just good in creating – I guess,   more teaching me the things that those  mental health services would've taught me. Jasmine Lee I definitely agree with Areeb in  terms of pressures on mental health services,   and the waiting times are very, very long for  a lot of services. So, even if young people   want to access it, it makes it a bit difficult,  and otherwise, usually quite expensive as well,   if they’re looking for treatment elsewhere. And  I guess some young people might not necessarily   be seeking treatment, especially if there’s  a lot of stigma in their communities. So,   yeah, there are all sorts of barriers to young  people accessing the help that they may need. Sude Isil Bastug I believe it is resilience, and,  also, learning how to take care of your mental   health. As Jasmine and Areeb mentioned before,  it is really hard to access mental health support   currently. And therefore, teaching young people,  showing young people how they can take care of   their mental health, through maybe developing  hobbies or establishing good sleep routines,   or maybe, like, teaching them how to narrate their  own story in a different way, we can show young   people how to take care of themselves in a better  way. And I think that’s something that we also aim   through our workshops, as well, empowering them  with these skills so that they can take care of   their mental health, even sometimes they may  not be able to access mental health support. Areeb Ahmed I feel like schools don’t teach you  a lot of these skills, and so the five workshops   were able to teach young people the skills  in a very, like, informative, a very – yeah,   an informative way, which was able to just make  it stick inside of your head, rather than, like,   a small assembly that was given by your school  on how to just write a diary entry or something. Dr Keri Wong   So, I think there are several key take-aways  from these workshops that would probably inform   Researchers and practitioners, as well.  So, from the Researcher side of things,   you know, our workshops really highlighted  the importance of listening to young people.   You know, I would even say, you know, the process  of asking young people I think is also important,   keeping them as – in the centre of focus, ensuring  that whatever we’re creating for them is actually   directly coming from their suggestions. So, I  think it has to be very young person-centred. And the second thing is the co-production process,  obviously. I would say we could've also done a bit   better in terms of embedding young people’s voices  throughout our research project a lot more, so   involving them at every stage of the project, even  at the inception stage, would be most helpful.   And then, finally, you know, attendance obviously  is definitely something we were concerned about,   and certainly, I think, in the future, if we  were to do this again, being able to co-produce   a better marketing strategy, whereby we’re able  to recruit more young people through existing   infrastructures, existing networks and contacts,  that would be a great improvement, as well. And then a key point for practitioners,  our study really showed how valuable it was   for us to create these safe spaces for young  people to share their experiences. Oftentimes   this might be directly in their community and in  community centres, or maybe even in their schools,   where they are familiar with  the environment, as well. So,   I think that’s definitely a consideration  for practitioners to think about when,   you know, thinking about how to best engage  young people on topics of mental health. Jasmine Lee I think a really important  point is to collaborate with charities   or youth hubs or youth clubs, organisations,  that are already working with young people,   because a lot of the time, it’s very difficult  to just through your own social media channels,   recruit young people, especially those  who don’t normally participate in research   from specific communities that may be more  difficult to reach. And so, it’s really   important to collaborate with charities who  already work with these young people and to   meet them in the spaces where they already are,  rather than expecting them to come out to meet you   elsewhere. So, I think working with youth clubs,  for instance, really helped us with recruitment. Sude Isil Bastug Building onto  that, to what Jasmine has just said,   I think it would be really good if, as Researchers  or as partners, if you take your time to better   understand the inner workings of your partner  institution. Net – and how, like, their networks,   it would be easier to maximise participation from  young people, as well, because you may identify   departments in the – your partner that can work  directly with young people with similar aims. Dr Keri Wong I guess I’ll add to  that. I think super important to   go directly to – into the community. I think  oftentimes Researchers, practitioners, even,   might not be on the ground so much, and actually  being in the community, spending time to build   the rapport that is necessary to work with  young people, with key stakeholders as well,   early on in the process, is very important in  ensuring the success of the partnership, as well. Areeb Ahmed And I would say just through the  advertising, if you advertise it as, like,   an opportunity with merit and selectiveness and  that it will bring good for you, a lot of young   people would go for it, especially within an age  range of, like, later secondary school to, even,   like, university students. As they’ll be able  to – they’ll see that it carries a bit of merit,   and they’ll be able to use that to the best of  their ability within whatever they may need.