Depression and low mood (young people)
Messages to health professionals about depression
Young people’s experiences dealing with health professionals in primary, secondary, and tertiary care varied (see also ‘Dealing with health professionals’). Over months or years, young people learned what worked best for them and how they felt health professionals could best support them.
Many were passionate about young people’s voices been heard and listened to in mental health care and about communicating these points across to all people working with young people.
Providing mental health care: 'Do your job'
While being 'young people orientated' was an important characteristic for a health professional to have, at the same time, it was important for them not to come across as patronising.
Young people wanted their doctors to do their jobs and not pretend they could personally understand what it was like to live with depression as a young person.
As one young woman said, 'Cos they don’t know how people feel, so they shouldn’t say it'.
'It's easy to tell young people that it'll all be alright' when you really don't know what it feels like.
'It's easy to tell young people that it'll all be alright' when you really don't know what it feels like.
Young people wanted their health care providers to give them time and have patience with them in the same way that they wanted their parents or carers to respond.
While being professional, young people also appreciated doctors with 'a human side' who went 'the extra mile'. Young pepople said they could sense who took a genuine interest in their wellbeing.
Many also described how hard it was to talk about the sorts of difficult experiences they’d been through and hoped for sensitivity from doctors.
One woman said, 'I know you’ve got this textbook of depression and you use these things you have to treat it, but please half these people hate it, they hate the stigma of being told to sign something that has the words “mental health” in it. They hate the fact that they feel like this'.
Have a bit of patience.
Have a bit of patience.
Besides offering conventional treatments including medication and therapy, people wanted health providers to adopt a 'proactive and encouraging approach' to recovery.
Many wanted to get as much information as possible and be told of all the different options available for them. Some emphasised the importance of finding coping strategies together. For example, health professionals telling young people how taking up a sport, a new hobby, or learning a new skill could help boost their confidence alongside treatment.
Many young people had been told by their doctor how common depression was and that they weren’t alone. However, some felt that demonstrating this in more concrete ways such as recommending books or 'highlighting successful case studies' would be helpful.
Think of different ways "to encourage them".
Think of different ways "to encourage them".
Help young people relate to someone else similar who's gone through the same.
Help young people relate to someone else similar who's gone through the same.
Treatment from health professionals: 'Treat us as people, not as diagnosis'
Above all, young people with depression or low mood are young people, not patients, diagnoses, or conditions. Several young people felt that some doctors had been more focused on their diagnosis or treatments than they were on looking at them as individuals and their lives as a whole.
They felt that they benefitted more from their treatment and care when they were involved and when decisions about their care and treatment were tailored to their overall life situation.
Being treated with respect and, above all, being treated as people rather than as 'a walking illness' was essential.
Being treated as a young adult rather than a child could also boost young people’s sense of self and confidence. Young people didn’t want to be treated any differently, even if they had a diagnosis of a mental health problem;
One young person explained that, 'You feel like you are actually insane. So don’t react to people like they are, just because they have a mental health condition it doesn’t make them any less intelligent, or any less capable of dealing with the minutest detail of their condition'.
Some people also pointed out that the better their doctor knew them, the better they could treat them. They resented doctors taking a 'blanket approach' and explaining their behaviour too quickly with a diagnosis.
They felt sometimes doctors made quick assumptions about how people with depression or low mood behave rather than finding out about their specific situation.
Develop trust and respect confidentiality
Young people didn’t want to be patronised or 'mollycoddled': they wanted honest, straightforward information and open communication.
Trust and confidentiality were essential elements to establish in the care relationship. Some people worried about telling their doctor or therapist certain things in case their parents would find out.
A couple of young people had been to a clinic with their parents and had felt uncomfortable about being honest about disclosing any self-harm or suicidal thoughts, for example.
They also wanted their doctors to talk directly to them rather than to their parents. Again, young people wanted their doctors to be open and inclusive.
Last reviewed: July 2025.
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