What happens when mental health awareness becomes the norm? And how do we take the crucial step from talking about mental health to actually changing the systems in which young people grow up? On March 30, Healthy Start colleagues and partners gathered for the Healthy Start Colloquium to discuss these questions.

The day kicked off with an overview of what we stand for as Healthy Start Ambition Mental well-being of youth, presented by Ambition Leads Danielle Remmerswaal (Erasmus University Rotterdam) and Ryan Muetzel (Erasmus Medical Center). They presented our 3 key priorities: conducting research with young people, involving systems surrounding young people, and focusing on positive factors that can offer support to young people.

From individual label to societal change

The keynote by Anette Wickström (Linköping University) provided a critical perspective. She discussed how the current way we investigate the mental health of young people can unintentionally contribute to the pathologizing of everyday experiences. Additionally, underlying socio-economic factors, and the role of society and school, can be overlooked when the focus is placed solely on the individual. She also presented research results from interviews with young people, which showed the extent to which young people have embraced psychiatric language.

The perspective of young people

Central to the afternoon was the perspective of young people themselves on mental well-being. Sophie Sweijen (Erasmus University Rotterdam) presented the project ‘PRAATPOWER‘, a collaboration with MIND Us. Here, together with young people, she investigated which solutions young people propose themselves to improve their mental well-being. Subsequently, Yara Toenders (Healthy Start Fellow, Erasmus University Rotterdam) presented on the Well-b-young project. This is an ongoing collaboration with the Trimbos Institute in which the perspective of young people on interventions within the school environment is being investigated.

The day concluded with a panel discussion moderated by Kayla Green (Erasmus University Rotterdam). Various perspectives from the field came together here, with Amine Bakkali (MIND Us), Pim van den Dool (NJR), Aniek de Lange (Trimbos Institute), and Wanda Tempelaar (Erasmus MC). The message was clear: the world in which young people live is becoming increasingly complex, which brings with it a host of challenges. However, the fact that awareness of mental health has increased is positive.

Conclusion

Often mentioned at the colloquium was that communicating and involving youth is crucial. Young people should be viewed as contributors to society and as partners in creating the world we want to live in. To make this possible, we need to work together within universities, across universities, with societal partners, and with youth themselves. To keep an open dialogue, we need to be aware of diversities among young people, for example cultural differences. In general, mental health awareness might have increased, there for some, speaking about mental health is still uncommon.

We look back on a successful colloquium led by moderator Robin Smits (Erasmus University Rotterdam, TU Delft). During the closing reception, there was an opportunity for interaction at the information market. Here, there was also the chance to delve deeper into the projects of, among others, Eva Borkhuis (Healthy Start PhD, Erasmus University Rotterdam), Eefje Eikelenboom (TU Delft), and Bart Lanser (TU Delft).