Young People in Distress: Equipping Youth Workers with the Right Tools
Siyavash Doostkah | Youth Affairs Network of Queensland | CEO
Youth workers play a critical role in supporting young people facing mental health challenges. However, many in the sector feel ill-equipped to assess mental health concerns and often struggle with determining when and how to refer young people to clinical mental health services. This issue was highlighted in October 2020, when the Youth Affairs Network of Queensland (YANQ) hosted an online forum focused on the role of youth workers in responding to mental health issues. A key concern raised during this forum was that many youth workers lacked the confidence and skills to assess young people’s mental health needs accurately. As a result, a significant number of avoidable referrals to clinical mental health services were being made—placing additional strain on already overstretched services and potentially causing harm by pathologising distress that could be managed through community support.
In response, YANQ sought to address this competency gap by developing resources that would empower youth workers to engage more effectively with young people in distress and make informed decisions about clinical referrals. After several years of advocacy and planning, YANQ secured funding from the Community Benefit Fund, allowing the project to move forward.
Developing Evidence-Based Resources for the Youth Sector
To ensure the resources developed were grounded in research and best practice, YANQ partnered with Adelaide University’s Critical and Ethical Mental Health (CEMH) research group—a team dedicated to promoting safer, more ethical, and more effective approaches to mental health care.
The first stage of the project, conducted in early 2024, involved an extensive data collection process aimed at understanding the real-world challenges youth workers face when supporting young people in distress. This included:
Surveys, focus groups, and interviews with youth workers to identify key issues related to mental health support and referral practices.
Engagement with Headspace and hospital-based services to analyse referral patterns and gain insights into how young people transition into clinical care.
Expansion beyond Queensland, with youth workers and services from across the country contributing to the research.
The data collection phase (February–April 2024) provided invaluable insights into why and how youth workers make referrals and what supports they need to feel more confident in their roles. The findings from this research informed the next phase of the project—developing practical tools and training to enhance youth workers’ ability to engage meaningfully with young people in distress without immediately resorting to clinical referral.
Introducing the Online Training Package for Youth Workers
Based on the research findings, Professor Jon Jureidini, a highly respected child psychiatrist and expert in non-pathologising approaches to mental health care, led the development of a comprehensive online training package. Jureidini is the head of CEMH and the Paediatric Mental Health Training Unit (PMHTU), both of which promote alternative, ethical approaches to supporting mental health in primary care settings.
The new online training package, officially launched on February 25th, 2024, is designed to equip youth workers with:
Engaging video content that breaks down key mental health concepts in an accessible way.
Reflective exercises to help youth workers think critically about their approach to supporting young people.
Practical templates that guide decision-making when working with young people experiencing distress.
Watch the launch session recording here: 👉 Click to Watch
Access the training resources by enrolling here: 👉 Enrol Now
This training is a must-have resource for any youth worker who wants to feel more confident, capable, and ethical when supporting young people through mental health challenges.
Why This Matters: Moving Towards a More Ethical Approach to Youth Mental Health
For too long, mental distress has been overly medicalised, with young people being quickly referred to clinical services that may not always be necessary or appropriate. While clinical mental health services are vital for those with severe or enduring mental health conditions, many young people experiencing distress need community-based support, strong relationships, and safe spaces to express themselves—not an immediate diagnosis or medication.
By equipping youth workers with better skills, knowledge, and confidence, this project ensures that:
✔️ Young people receive the right kind of support at the right time.
✔️ Unnecessary clinical referrals are reduced, easing pressure on mental health services.
✔️ The youth sector embraces more ethical, empowering, and person-centred approaches to mental health.
To further support youth workers in using appropriate language and framing distress in a way that empowers young people, we also highly recommend the book:
‘Language Matters’ by Anthony Smith and Melissa Raven—a guide to using ethical and effective language when supporting people in distress.
Final Thoughts: A Sector-Wide Commitment to Better Mental Health Support
This project is just the beginning of an essential shift in the way youth workers approach mental health support. By focusing on non-pathologising, relationship-based approaches, we can ensure that young people receive the care they need without being unnecessarily medicalised or marginalised.
We encourage all youth workers and organisations to:
Engage with the training resources.
Reflect on how their service approaches mental health.
Commit to providing young people with ethical, empowering, and effective support.
Together, we can transform youth mental health care—ensuring that every young person receives support that truly meets their needs.
Let’s continue this conversation and build a youth sector that is better equipped, more ethical, and more effective in supporting young people in distress.