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Adolescents are spending significant time online. Consequently, concerns are consistently raised about potential negative impacts on their mental health. Potentially, these concerns minimise their autonomy and reify the construction of the vulnerable adolescent. Using template analysis, we explored adolescents' perspectives (N = 54) of the relationship between social media and mental health. We centrally considered the wide array of uses made of different social media by the participants, focusing on their understandings of the potentially positive effects these might have. Focus group discussions showed social media could be used to reduce stress, have value for social connectivity, were an important source of information about mental health, and provided a platform for peer-to-peer support. Our conclusion indicated adolescents are generally socially competent online and are often experimenting with their emergent sense of agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In England schools are increasingly responsible for supporting children with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) difficulties yet their voices are rarely represented. Through semi-structured interviews, the views of 11 children aged 6–11 years with SEMH difficulties were sought. Using thematic analysis two themes were identified – (1) social relationships and interactions, and (2) emotional and behavioural reactions. The children demonstrated that they were articulate and reflective about the impact their difficulties have in the learning environment. For some, they reported building and maintaining close reciprocal friendships which they felt enriched their time at school. It was concluded that children with SEMH difficulties need to feel safe and supported by adults to flourish in school. This work demonstrates the importance of taking a child-centred approach, allowing children to feel heard, understood and valued. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Unaccompanied refugee adolescents are a small but clinically significant group. This group is vulnerable with physical and psychiatric needs which are often not met. There are several barriers to providing care for this group, originating with the refugees but also due to service provision. Aims: The aim of this research is to appreciate the views and perceptions that unaccompanied minors hold about mental health and services. Method: Fifteen unaccompanied adolescents engaged with mental health services were interviewed, and thematic analysis was employed to explore relevant issues. Discussion: Their views reflected a range of opinions on mental health and the treatments they received, but many held negative attitudes toward mental health and had a lack of trust in services. This could be explained by their descriptions of their experiences within their home country of psychiatric care, their experiences of being a refugee/asylum-seeker or cultural differences. Conclusion: We argue it is important to engage this group in the development of policy and practice in child mental health, and in developing services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of complementary and alternative interventions is growing and gaining popularity, both in the UK and internationally, with significant financial and emotional implications. Complementary and alternative interventions are often utilised by parents of children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders and research has investigated parental beliefs. There is, however, limited understanding regarding what professionals believe about the use of alternative treatments. In this paper we explore the opinions of a range of different professionals about alternative treatments and found that while some have an open-minded opinion, there was a tendency to hold beliefs that these treatments are ineffective, that they give false hope and have potential to harm the child. We discuss the implications for this in terms of the importance of an open dialogue between professionals and families and consider the importance of this in relation to the popularity of these interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]