The professional learning process of enhancing mental health literacy and its application to youth work practice: a grounded theory study

Abstract

Youth workers provide services to youth and their families in different fields such as recreation, social justice, mental health. They play an important role in the well-being of youth and thus, mental health literacy (MHL) should be an integral part of professional preparation. The present grounded theory study examined how a MHL curriculum, specifically designed for youth work, is applied in interventions with young people suffering from suicidality or mental health concerns. Thirteen participants involved in higher education programmes and engaged in youth work practice participated in the study. Over 60 sources of data (i.e. interviews, written reflections, creative artefacts, observations) were used in the analysis. Findings suggest that the process of becoming and being in youth work is comprised of two sub-categories: struggling to become and being a youth worker. Conditions such as learning activities and specific content in the curriculum shaped and influenced the process and, consequentially, participants’ movement therein. These findings imply that promoting MHL and professional identity development are intertwined learning processes such that mental health education must integrate issues of professional identity.