Young People's Participation

Sophie Davies 

(she/her)

People Participation Lead for Suffolk Children, Families and Young People’s Services

Hi, my name is Sophie and I have been working as a People Participation Lead since September 2020. Before this I was working as a co-ordinator and tutor for the Recovery College and completing my masters in Psychology. I came into this role as I had previously used services for my own mental health with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and wanted to use these experiences to try and support others. This role has given me the opportunity to work alongside young people and create a safe, supportive and inclusive space to share their thoughts, experiences and ideas which has led to some great and positive changes to the service. When I’m not at work I love going to gigs and playing the drums.

Andrea Bland

(she/her)

People Participation Co-ordinator for Norfolk and Waveney Children, Families and Young People’s Services

Hi, I’m Andrea. I became a People Participation Co-ordinator in August 2022 and chose the role as I have supported my son from a young age through his mental health journey and have experience of living with my own mental health challenges. My favourite part of the job is empowering people to recognise their ideas are valuable and sharing them can help others. I wish I’d have been involved more when my son was younger so I’m also passionate about parents and carers voices being heard. In my spare time I like going for long walks.

Donna Wilson

People Participation Champion

Hi, my name is Donna and I have been in my role as a People Participation Champion since July 2023. I previously studied social work and have been employed in the substance misuse arena.

My passion, however, is supporting and empowering young people with the various challenges they are faced with in today's world.

I am a single mother and have experienced my own mental health difficulties over the past 20 years, including being bereaved by suicide on three occasions.

Our mental health permeates every aspect of our lives, and I am committed to ensuring that the service on offer meets the needs of the young people accessing it and their parents and carers. I cherish this role and the opportunity to work with young people, ensuring their ideas and feedback have a voice.

Outside of work I enjoy listening to music, dancing, and socialising. 

Grace Hill

People Participation Champion

Hi, my name is Grace and I am a People Participation Champion working in the Children, Families and Young Peoples’ service. I work with a very kind and special team to make sure that the voices of service users are heard across the whole system around care.

I got into participation and this role because I have lived experience around mental health and disability. I consider myself incredibly lucky in that even though I still struggle I have a very tight support network around me, both at home and at work, who know me incredibly well and will often know what I need without me having to ask.

However, I am aware that not everyone has that… some people might not be able to communicate as well or as safely as me, might not have as clear an understanding of their needs, or might just feel nervous about asking for help.

My favourite part of the role is going into professional meetings and getting to be a voice for those people, and on the bad days I remind myself that I wouldn’t be able to do that without the experiences I have had so far. Outside of work I love spending time with my family and friends, I am super creative and love listening to Kiss FM.

But not forgetting, I love my job too… it has given me so much more confidence and taught me a lot about the system that also looks after me, so it seems a bit less scary when I need help myself.

Would you like to be involved in improving our mental health services for yourself and others? Your voice deserves to be heard!

Particip8! are a group of people with a personal interest in mental health for young people and a passion for improving mental health services.

Whether you’d prefer to be part of a group, have one-to-one sessions, or share your ideas and experience by email, Whatsapp or phone, we would love for you to join us.

You can be involved as little or as much as you would like and with the things that are important to you.

• Using lived experience, we have led on projects such as:
• The language of letters and ensuring these are young person and carer friendly
• Interviewing staff
• Sharing our experience of crisis services
• Art projects
• Development of educational courses and many more.

To find out more, email Sophie.davies@nsft.nhs.uk. You can also text or call 07342 066589 or use Whatsapp.

Experiences of Particip8!

Grace from Particip8! has shared her experience of participation and Particip8! in particular. You can read  Grace's Particip8 Participation Story [pdf] 77KB

Particip8! podcasts

Our Particip8! group have made a range of podcasts for the Mental Health and You Podcast. Below are some links directly to episodes available on Spotify and other platforms: 

• Participation at NSFT — This episode focuses both on experiences of services and getting involved with Participation through Particip8! If you're interested in learning more about getting involved, it's a great place to start to learn more. 
• Experiences of Participation
• Self-esteem and belonging
• Disabilities and mental health
• Social media and mental health
• Living with Anxiety

 

Liv

(she/her)

“My participation journey began while I was in therapy. Making YouTube videos was helping with my recovery, and I showed one to my therapist. She asked if I would like to use my creativity to help with participation and put me in touch with Lucy. Lucy and I had a video call, I was anxious, but she was so open with me about her recovery and put me at ease.

Lucy and I spoke a few more times and then I felt confident enough to join the Young People’s Participation Group. I remember three of us went along regularly, I didn’t turn my camera on at first but after a while I felt like I could. At the group I felt like my voice was heard for the first time since being under services. It made me feel validated and gave me a sense of purpose. I had a job so couldn’t attend every time; it was fine to go along when I could. The groups were fun to go to – at Christmas we had a quiz, and all wore Christmas jumpers!

I was offered the chance to get involved in other projects and going to the group had given me the confidence to do this. The first thing I did was attend staff Leadership Training online and speak about my experience of using services. Lucy helped me to prepare for this and although it was scary, I felt empowered, like I was doing something meaningful, and my voice was being heard.

After this, I took part in lots of other participation opportunities including attending a Participation Committee Meeting where I presented a video I’d made about my mental health recovery journey to professionals. This gave me valuable skills, I later used when applying for my current job. The biggest thing I did was take part in a video about communication which was very professional and exciting – it was like being a movie star!!

Participation has helped me gain confidence, build my self-esteem, learn new IT skills, become more confident about public speaking (which I never thought I could do) and helped me overcome my anxiety. It also made it easier to transition over to adult services.

I’m still involved with participation, it’s a part of my job with the Trust and I help to deliver Participation Training to new starters. During training I tell my story and share what other participants have said. I wish participation was something I could’ve got involved in when I had my initial assessment - I would’ve been able to help make changes sooner and get better quicker!”

Debbie’s Story

I first became involved with NSFT Children, Families and Young People’s Services when my daughter needed support with her mental health. As a parent, I didn’t feel as involved as I could have been and would’ve liked some things done differently.At the time, there wasn’t a participation team to contact. If there had of been, I would have wanted more information so I could get involved and have my voice heard.

Several years later, when I was accessing services, my mental health worker told me about an opportunity to participate by sitting on NSFT interview panels; this allows people using services to help choose future staff members. I liked this idea and was keen to pursue it further. My support worker passed my details on, and the participation team got in touch with me. I was a bit worried, but I needn’t have been, as I was given training by NSFT staff who put me at ease and made it easy to understand.  Afterwards, I was excited to get going! I still look forward to sitting on interview panels as it makes me feel valued.

Through this work, I found out about other participation opportunities, in particular working with Children, Families and Young People’s People Participation Coordinator, Andrea. I met Andrea at a participation event. She took my details and emailed me to arrange a first meeting. In a very short space of time, we met in a community setting where I felt at ease.  Over the course of a few meetings, Andrea made me feel comfortable and settled and I was able to give my thoughts and views. The lived experience element of her role really helped as she seemed to understand my experiences. Since meeting up, I’ve given feedback for lots of projects including wording of letters, website development ideas and have even chosen the colour of a reception area! We meet regularly, in a location of my choice for roughly an hour. Andrea is always flexible on dates, times, and meeting spaces. She also checks I feel comfortable each time.

I’ve been participating for several years now and in that time, I’ve been able to see the benefits of participation as both a parent/carer and using services myself. These include:

• Feeling I haven’t failed as a parent – I’ve passed my knowledge and experience on
• My self-esteem has raised - as a family we’ve come out the other side
• Knowing I can help and play a part in change
• I feel heard
• I’ve seen things change for the better

If you’re thinking about getting involved with participation, I’d say to go ahead and make contact, you really won’t regret it!

Grace is a former Particip8! member and is currently a People Participation Champion.

I found out about Particip8 through being a member of Equal Lives, who help me manage my disability package. I got a newsletter and found out about participation in Norfolk.

It looked perfect... it played to my passion, interest and lived experience around mental health, seemed fairly accessible, I had a fair bit of time on my hands, I thought I could really do this!

But the catch was that I don't come from Norfolk, so surely, I thought, there must be something like this available in Suffolk too. I contacted NSFT Norfolk and Waveney people participation lead at the time, they passed me on to Sophie Davies who was their counterpart in Suffolk, and the rest is history, I haven't and would never look back.

Communication was very quick, as was the realisation from that moment that I really was looking at something special.

At my first participation meeting there were three of us - me, Sophie and another young person who I thought was another professional, maybe from an outside organisation. When Sophie had to step away briefly we got talking, they were very nervous at first but slowly by having each others' backs and sharing interests we have become very close friends and now talk regularly, mostly about our shared tastes in music.

There were more of us at the next meeting; we talked about how we could grow our comms to get outreach. I investigated the possibility of putting us on Kiss FM as their target demographic is young people and they put a lot of importance on mental health. I tried to contact them, but unfortunately didn’t hear back.

As well as my work with Particip8 and a whole host of other great activities I am also a member of a disability action group for young people. From the way my first meeting looked I thought Particip8 would be similar to that: meeting every couple of weeks, minutes recorded, and taking away tasks to share. I simply thought it would be a special place where I could put my experiences and energy, and that they would then snowball with other stories to hopefully make something great. I certainly didn't expect to make friends, but I have made some of my closest friendships through Particip8, and I couldn't thank everyone enough for that.

I was still struggling with mental health a bit when I joined Particp8 and never expected what would come with it. I knew it was special, but if you fast forward a year, I’m presenting online to NHS England representing best practice co-production. How did I wind up here? It’s fantastic to think what I’ve achieved and what these last two years have brought.

I’d say the most memorable project I have been involved with during my time in Particip8 was presenting to NHS England in March 2023. This was as part of a group.Two weeks later with Sophie, just the two of us, we took the same presentation to Provider Collaborative meeting. Whenever I achieve something like this that I see as so great I ask myself ‘How on earth does this happen?’

One thing that also makes me feel really proud is when I feel it is clear that my feedback has been listened to.

I had been part of Particip8 for around three months when we got sent a copy of a leaflet about mental health crisis services to give feedback on. I found the leaflet hard to read, the wording felt instructional, and because some of it was in capitals I felt like it was shouting at me.

I sent this feedback to Sophie and waited. Fast forward another two to three months and we got another draft of the leaflet that was easier to read and calmer in its written voice. It turns out that we had been consulted about the first draft when it had already been made, which sadly means it hadn't been co-produced. I don't know what other members of the Particip8 group had said in their feedback about this leaflet, because Particip8 wasn't as big a social space then as it is now. But even to this day I like to think that my feedback was listened to and used to create changes I could see, and that makes me feel very warm and proud.

Another moment that showed me how special Particip8 could be was when I did my Values Based Recruitment (VBR) training which has given me two years’ experience sitting on interview panels alongside NSFT staff. I will never forget my first one of these, even though I was just shadowing, and will always feel a sense of pride, now being staff myself, when I get to work alongside people I have helped to put in post. The big projects are great but the little things are important too.

Particip8 has been made fully accessible to me, a space that might not have otherwise been readily available; an area where I can share my experiences, passion and interest. It has also given me a space I can look at on the down days and when I’m doubting things; I can look at myself and say if I didn’t have all these experiences, I wouldn’t be able to do my job or have given feedback at the group. If you didn’t have rubbish days, you wouldn’t be able to do what you can do.

Particip8 has given me the confidence to look at my experiences and use them as a gift and skill. I have grown so much as a person and now I get to do a job I love... what better way is there to spend your working week?

For anyone looking to get into participation or join the Particip8 group I would say absolutely go for it. The best way to beat the bad bits is to manipulate them to make them good for you, and that is exactly what you can do in this space as well as hopefully making a difference to the mental health system for generations to come.

This poem was written by 23-year-old Lucy who has experienced mental health services firsthand at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT).

It was inspired by feedback gathered at an event held in Great Yarmouth in August 2024 where attendees were asked: “What should people know about mental health?”

What should people know about mental health?

I felt isolated and alone in my struggles.

Each day I was ashamed - I was told boys can't cry.

I couldn't find a way out no matter how hard I tried.

I was told by my teachers that I was brave, strong and resilient - I didn't believe them.

My parents kept reminding me it's okay to be sad sometimes. But it didn't feel okay.

My friends kept asking me to talk to them, but they wouldn't understand.

My therapist informed me that all of these things were true.

They said I could be strong, brave and sad at the same time.

Day by day my belief grew, and day by day the dark cloud above me disappeared.

Occasionally the cloud appears again, and everything becomes a bit darker.

But with my new belief in myself and my recovery, the cloud soon blows over and I am me again!

My friend came to me and asked about my mental health.

He said he felt alone and ashamed of the difficult feelings he was having.

I told him that he is strong and brave. 

I also reminded him that he possess the resilience to get through this time and time again.

It was important to tell him that boys are allowed to be sad too.

He can recover, just like I have done.

Within my recovery there are good days and bad.

Most of them are good, but sometimes I feel how I felt all that time ago.

But it's okay, as I know I am resilient and strong.

Each day I remind those around me of the important beliefs I now possess.

It's important for everyone to know that it's okay to be sad.

And the more people talk about their feelings, the easier it will become to talk about.

The awareness around mental health is important and I am proud of myself for supporting others.

Even my dog has noticed the change in me.

He loves nothing more than being by my side.

It's okay to be sad, anxious and afraid.

It's nothing to be ashamed of and you can recover.

You may find it hard to find someone who understands, but there are many people who do.

Mental health isn't just filled with struggles, there are many good feelings too. And once you feel them, you'll know the hard work was worth it. 

I felt like I had lost myself in the darkness,

But despite my experiences, I am still me.

And I'm more than okay with that!

Young service user, 8, shares importance of mental health on children’s mental health week 

In light of Children’s Mental Health Week, a brave eight-year-old pupil, who is receiving play therapy from Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust’s Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) team, has reflected on what mental health means, and why it is important for a special school assembly.

What is mental health?

Mental health is how our brain feels.  Our emotions, thoughts and feelings make up our mental health. 

If you get sad for too long you can start getting frustrated with yourself.

Mental health is different to physical health as you can’t see it. You can see someone with a broken leg, but you can’t see people that are struggling inside their head.  When you are struggling inside your head it can feel that people don’t understand.  That can be hard because you might get angry with them and ask them to go away and they might just think he is having a bad day just leave him, when you want people around you, but you don’t know what to say or how to explain it.  

Why is Children’s Mental Health Week important?

If we didn’t have Children’s Mental Health Week, nobody would know about mental health, and they wouldn’t be able to understand and help children that are finding life hard.

Mental health is how we feel about ourselves and others.  How we deal with all our emotions, like sadness, being scared, happy, excited, worried, overwhelmed, joyful, anxious and lots more.

Why is mental health important?

It is important because if you get sad for a long time you might not feel like you can do all the things you normally do, and you don’t enjoy things anymore because you don’t feel happy.  You might start hurting others, like at school, and you don’t mean it.  You might cry a lot or shout because you feel so sad.  That’s why it is important to talk about all your worries and feelings to other people. You can get support at CAMHS, that’s where I go every Monday, and at school, and from your parents or your family or friends.

I moved school because I struggled with my mental health. I was bullied a lot, and it made me feel very angry, sad, anxious, worried, upset, lonely, confused and I didn’t want to be alive anymore. I didn’t know who I could trust.  I talked about it and then I got some help and now I am starting to feel better.

Sharing your feelings is good because you can get help, but it is hard to say your feelings to a teacher or parent.

We need to help each other so we can all help that person to feel better.  We can help each other by listening to them so they can say their worries and feelings, asking if they are okay, check if they are alright and play with them.

Happy people always make other people happy.  Thank you very much to all of you for doing all these things to me and making my school life a lot better and happier. 

How do you cope with bad mental health, and what can you do to help?

Coping with bad mental health is hard to do because you are frustrated all the time and really sad but if you try you can find things to do like breathing and counting to 10, tracing around your fingers, reading your favourite book, drawing/colouring, inviting a friend around to talk, exercise, yoga, writing stuff down, going for a walk, playing games, and whatever makes you happy.

It’s hard to do because you are feeling really bad about yourself, and you might not be able to do it, but you could ask your friends or family if they could do it with you and help you. 

If you have a worry you can go to the worry box outside the headteacher’s office, speak to a teacher, go to the Support room, talk to a friend, you could go into the library where it is quiet, you can sit on the buddy bench or go to the quiet corner in the playground. Teachers are here to help us. You could also ask a friend to help you with your worries and your feelings

Why is it important to look after our mental health?

So we can keep enjoying the things that we like.  

How can we look after our mental health?

Keeping active, doing sports and clubs, going out for a walk, getting fresh air, going out to see what the world offers for you, going to the park, reading a book, eating healthy diets, drinking water, not spending too much time on a screen.  Screens can make your brain feel really bad and are not good for your mental health and you may not even realise it.  Talking is very important, but the most important thing is being kind to each other.  

The theme for this year’s Children’s Mental Health Week is ‘know yourself, grow yourself’.  They are using the characters from Inside Out 2 to help children understand their feelings more. 

The support I get from my family, CAMHS and this school, has helped me grow my confidence and I can now talk about my feelings because I understand them. I have got to know myself and now I am growing. I hope you can too.  

I set myself a challenge to make everyone in the school a rock pet. You can tell your worries, share happy things, or anything you want to tell them. You are never alone. 

listen

No the kids are not alright

And neither is the system

These self-proclaimed professionals

Don't take the time to listen.

I understand work pressures

Lack of hours in a day

But it takes 30 seconds

Just to ask 'are you ok?'

They promise us the world

And then they don't deliver

And then we get forgotten

Like little slips and slivers.

So when you see that closed off boy

Or that sad, lonely girl

Just think maybe you could be the one

That opens up their world.

It only takes a smile

Or a firm grip of the hand

Just a little gesture

To show you understand.

'Cause no the kids are not alright

And neither is the system

But maybe one day that could all change

If we took the time to listen.

Do you fancy a game of emotional Cluedo?
I DON’T
I will tell you why…
It is absolutely mind boggling and tortuous,
But it is what I face every day and never stop playing it, every minute, every day…

I ask 20 questions to everyone around,
How are you? I say desperately,
But it does not give the clue I expect, 
Then I become stuck as I don’t know what to say,
I want to give positive clues, but positive ones are one sided, 
My brain is screaming “clue clue clue clue clue clue clue”! 
Whilst I desperately try to play a game of emotion match, 
Is like this? 
I ask hopeful I have the right square,
No! they say, 
Oh! I go 
They give me more clues…
They say if you move this way you will be closer to the right square,  
And so it continues 
Ah clues clues clues clues clues…

We together support each other,
To play and play on, 
By sharing squares of emotions and clues,
I am able to build my own bank of clues for future reference,
I am also able to use this when people have their own game to address.  
 A game I play with  great pleasure, allowing my friends to lean on my shoulders. 

But I struggle to navigate my own game, 
The game is so complex and messy,
Regardless of clues I am unable to do it.

I am like a radio quiz as well as Cluedo,
The world has no grey,
The only options are one or zero, 
Or happy or sad, 
Or so I thought,
Until I found more clues clues clues clues…

You see I play a different board game every day, 
With unusual clues clues clues clues clues clues clues clues…

Clues clues clues clues,
come from a game board of my body,
The A to Z game is the  worse,
It is like my brain is trying to tell a story but can’t. 
My game play has stopped and I am not participating anymore 
Then you  have the caged lion game, which is the worst of all. 
I love sleeping lions but that seems a far way off 
The lion game is worst as I don’t know why I feel the way I do 
I wish to jump on the lion’s gameplay and spend time with it to found out what makes it tic 
Clues clues clues are not so wonderful after all 

After an intense day on the battlefield more horrible games come along 

The number shark game is the worst of all as my jaw is playing a version of snap that is so headache inducing you might have to play operation ouch too 

Clues Clues clues are useful 
But only if you are a detective 
That uses my language 

Clues clues clues 
I speak many a different language 
With friends I play codeword 
This means that we can both make moves 
in a friendly game of support 
Where thee are no winners or losers 

In SOS 
Play the game of psychologists 
Apply strategies and decipher  
It is hard I know
And this game may be a long one 
It can take many a form

Clues clues clues clues 
Come in the form of maps 
of many structures 

Codegroups they are called 
CodeFamily 
Codefriends 
CodeVolunteer 
CodeSocialCare 

With a combo of  codegames 
I am able to break out of my emotion Cluedo 
As I finally after playing the game of caged lion 
I am able to play a safe game of Connect Code 4 
and start to explore my feelings.

It is hard to describe my identity when times are tough.

I feel lost, isolated and scared.

I and alone in a dark web of thoughts. Tangled.

Trying to escape to no avail.

In fear of who I am due to my illness - I head to a place where I feel at peace. A place where my thoughts no longer suffocate me.

A place where I can feel free for at least a short time.

I head outside into nature.

Around nature I am as free as the leaves blowing in the wind.

The tree branches are dancing and almost hugging each other ad they move.

I am reminded of my caring nature.

My selfless attitude and the kindness I showed within my role as a care assistant.

As I march further into the woods I can hear the loud crunch of leaves.

Their array of a multitude of colours is breathtakingly beautiful.

I think of my creative side.

How I enjoy making a vast variety of different crafts.

I think of all the projects I have produced during my lifetime. And how my creative nature has just expanded as I have grown.

The wind announces itself with its melodic howls and whistles.

It's not frightened of judgement.

Just like how I love scream singing songs in the car.

Especially when my friends and I are driving with no destination.

With no cares in the world in that moment - we perform songs like we're the only people on earth.

Above me the continuous chatter of squirrels mimics the laughter of those around me.

I believe I have a strong wit. And I rely on my humour to drag myself through the dark days. My friends describe me as funny (mostly funny looking)

It just makes me happy to see them smile.

At the pond the fish are jumping joyfully.

I can't help but think of the fun I have dancing with friends to our favourite songs.

Next to me on the ground the ants are carrying food back to their nests.

Each ant marching behind the other and them supporting each other to carry food that's bigger than each ant.

It causes me to think of how much I enjoy working with other people.

How much love I have for my family - as just like the ants I'd do anything to provide for them. But finally it reminds me of the ambition I have inside me. I remember the moment I won my first big fishing trophy. How happy I was to have achieved something.

It also forces me to face my goals now.

And it shows me that I am in fact destined to be a nurse. That I can achieve whatever I want - as long as I allow others around me to support me when I'm struggling.

And when I head to the beach on a dark day

The sound of the sea,

The cool breeze,

And the sand between my toes remind me of who I am.

I am proud of who I identify as. I am me. And I am glad to be alive.

The darkness overwhelms you.

Each day is hard. Each day you are lost.

Lost inside your mind - with no one to turn to. You are weighed down by the earth and the abundant troubles it holds.

You are a seed.

Waiting to break free; waiting to see the light.

One day you gain the courage to depart the gloom.

Your call for help is answered by nature as she provides you the tools to grow.

It is terrifying, a leap into the unknown. But nature will counsel you if you fall.

It's your journey but she will guide you.

You grow into a sapling - small and scared. Yet you are so far from where you started.

You make progress.

Day by day your first branch lengthens.

It is an arm of self worth and confidence.

Although mother nature guides you. This progress is made alone.

It's a relationship of empathy.

You're growing alone with the help of the loving eater she provides.

You acknowledge that accepting help has led you to understand your journey forwards.

You find one day your branch stops growing. Your progress is frozen.

You are stuck.

You begin to feel lost, desperate.

Your reject any more help because you feel like you cannot grow.

Your first branch isn't developing further, So why should you continue working?

There is no way forward.

However an unseen branch is forming. The branch of joy begins to flourish.

Yesterday it wasn't visible. Today you view life in a different light.

Finally you can see the progress that was hidden by your fascination on the visible.

Mother nature reminds you that you continue to move forward even if you cannot see your progress.

A branch of strength is hidden.

It has been there for a long time - you wouldn't have made it this far without it. Your strength blossoms from your past storms and accomplishments.

Battles you continue to live through and floods that don't drown you just encourage your strength to thrive.

As a tree you are strong, resilient and brave. You can withstand the worst weather.

You learn about yourself and grow each day. Most importantly, you do not allow your past to stunt your growth.

Your past pain is rooting you in place - the resilience it gives stops you falling.

Growth occurs in different parts of you simultaneously.

All these parts group together showing your strength and determination.

You are a tree.

You have fought many battles and won. You flourish from your past pain and how it forces you to grow.

You know that pain isn't terminal.

So each day you will dance in the wind through it.