In-patient mental health services for young people--changing to meet new needs?

There is currently considerable interest in consulting with young people and involving them in the development and delivery of mental health services - both at the local and national level. This is a welcome development since, as various studies have highlighted, young people can offer both valuable insights into the services they receive and suggestions for what they want from services.In 2003, YoungMinds, a national charity that works to promote children’s mental health, completed a two-year, in-depth qualitative study focused on a sample of in-patient units drawn from across England and Wales. Such units, found at Tier 4 (the most severe or complex problems) within Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) provide highly specialist care and treatment to some of the most seriously ill and vulnerable children and young people. A key aim of the study was to give a ‘voice’ to these young people in order to help in-patient services develop their provision in ways that are possibly more ‘young-pers...