Perspectives of young people, family carers and voluntary sector staff on help-seeking for mental health difficulties in a rural region of the United Kingdom - a qualitative study

Purpose To explore key stakeholders from rural communities’ perspectives of help-seeking for mental health difficulties. Methods/design Semi-structured interviews and a focus group were conducted with participants living in the East of England, UK. Thematic analysis was used to organise and analyse the data. Results Nine participants were recruited. Participants described barriers and facilitators of help-seeking. Barriers included: lengthy waiting times, socioeconomic means, poor therapeutic relationships, insufficient treatment duration, poor transition between services, high staff turnover, and limited investment. Facilitators included: family involvement/support, school nurses, shorter delays in accessing specialist services such as eating disorder services, and the offer of family therapy. Suggestions for improving future help-seeking and pathways to care, included: peer-support for young people, enhanced support for carers, early intervention and raising awareness of mental health. Originality Our qualitative approach meant we were able to explore in detail the existence and mechanisms underlying varied barriers and facilitators of care pathways amongst our sample. This allowed us to report rich findings and recommendations for clinical practice and future research work. Practical implications Training young people to support other young people, and identifying mental health champions in rural communities could reduce distress and ameliorate pressures on the health service.