Review of online mental health support for children and young people

When young people told us that being able to access information about their mental health and make informed choices was important to them, our team of young volunteers decided to review the online support available in Wiltshire in a mystery shopping project.

The Young Healthwatch Wiltshire volunteers created a series of scenarios around conditions such as depression and schizophrenia, to review the Barnardo’s On Your Mind and Wiltshire Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) websites, identifying what information was useful and relevant, what was good about the websites, and what could be improved. 

While the volunteers saw the information provided as a good starting point, they thought it didn’t go into enough detail, particularly on some of the lesser known conditions. They also thought the information could be more accessible, and better targeted towards different age groups.

Their suggestions for improvement included a search bar to aid navigation, and a chat function to provide peer support in a safe environment. They also wanted to see young people involved in the future design and development of the websites.

In response to the young volunteers’ findings, changes have already been made to the On Your Mind website with the introduction of a search bar, while a translation tool and chat function are currently being looked into. The young volunteers have also been invited to take part in future testing of the CAMHS website during its revamp.