Being Understood: Epistemic Injustice Towards Young People Seeking Support for Their Mental Health

Agency in Practice team; Michael Larkin; Rose McCabe; Lisa Bortolotti; Matthew Broome; Shioma-Lei Craythorne; Rachel Temple; Michele Lim; Catherine Fadashe; Chris Sims; Oscar Sharples; Josh Cottrell

doi:10.1007/978-3-031-68881-2_1

Being Understood: Epistemic Injustice Towards Young People Seeking Support for Their Mental Health

Agency in Practice team, Michael Larkin^*, Rose McCabe, Lisa Bortolotti, Matthew Broome, Shioma-Lei Craythorne, Rachel Temple, Michele Lim, Catherine Fadashe, Chris Sims, Oscar Sharples, Josh Cottrell

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review

Abstract

Across many domains, it is important for us to feel that we are understood by others. This is crucial when we are disclosing a vulnerability or seeking help for a problem. When these disclosures or help-seeking requests relate to mental health difficulties, our interactions with others can carry many threats, including stigmatisation; inappropriate moral or character judgements; overly stringent threshold evaluations; and assumptions about our personal circumstances and social resources. In this chapter, we summarise some of the core findings from empirical and qualitative studies which examine what happens when young people meet with health professionals to disclose or to seek help for their experiences with poor mental health. We then draw out some key implications for improving relational and communicative practices amongst mental health professionals. We focus on those implications which are highlighted by those members of our team who are young adults with experiences of accessing mental health services and reflect on these implications in the light of insights from the literature on epistemic injustice.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Epistemic Justice in Mental Healthcare
Subtitle of host publication	Recognising Agency and Promoting Virtues Across the Life Span
Editors	Lisa Bortolotti
Publisher	Palgrave Macmillan
Pages	1-22
Number of pages	22
Edition	1
ISBN (Electronic)	9783031688812
ISBN (Print)	9783031688805, 9783031688836
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-68881-2_1
Publication status	Published - 17 Nov 2024

Keywords

Youth
Mental health
Felt understanding
Agency
Clinical encounters

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-031-68881-2_1Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution (CC BY)

3 Article
1 Book

Agential Epistemic Injustice in Clinical Interactions Is Bad for Medicine
Bortolotti, L., 10 Apr 2025, In: Philosophy of Medicine. 6, 1, p. 1-19 19 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Open Access
File
58 Downloads (Pure)
Epistemic Justice in Mental Healthcare: Recognising Agency and Promoting Virtues Across the Life Span
Bortolotti, L. (Editor), 17 Nov 2024, 1 ed. Palgrave Macmillan. 160 p.
Research output: Book/Report › Book

Open Access
Implying implausibility and undermining versus accepting peoples’ experiences of suicidal ideation and self-harm in Emergency Department psychosocial assessments
Bergen, C., Bortolotti, L., Temple, R. K., Fadashe, C., Lee, C., Lim, M. & McCabe, R., 30 Aug 2023, In: Frontiers in Psychiatry. 14, 19 p., 1197512.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Open Access
File
74 Downloads (Pure)
Communication in youth mental health clinical encounters: Introducing the agential stance
Bergen, C., Bortolotti, L., Tallent, K., Broome, M., Larkin, M., Temple, R., Fadashe, C., Lee, C., Lim, M. C. & Mccabe, R., 22 Jun 2022, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Theory and Psychology. 32, 5, p. 1-24 24 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Open Access
File
65 Downloads (Pure)

1 Active
2 Finished

Epistemic Injustice in Healthcare
Bortolotti, L. (Principal Investigator) & Broome, M. (Co-Investigator)
The Wellcome Trust
1/09/23 → 31/08/29
Project: Research
A new methodology linking interactional and experiential approaches, and involving young people as co-analysts of mental health encounters
Broome, M. (Principal Investigator) & Bortolotti, L. (Co-Investigator)
Medical Research Council
1/11/22 → 31/10/24
Project: Research Councils
Agency, Social Identity & Justice in Mental Health: A Collaboration with Young People, Clinicians & Academics across Philosophy, Ethics & Neuroscience
Broome, M. (Principal Investigator) & Bortolotti, L. (Co-Investigator)
Medical Research Council
1/04/20 → 28/02/22
Project: Research Councils

1 Engagement event

Philosophy and Mental Health
Bortolotti, L. (Organiser), Lalumera, E. (Contributor), Grassi, L. (Contributor), Larkin, M. (Contributor), McCabe, R. (Contributor) & Chattat, R. (Contributor)
26 Mar 2025
Activity: Engagement and Public events › Engagement event

Cite this

Agency in Practice team, Larkin, M., McCabe, R., Bortolotti, L., Broome, M., Craythorne, S.-L., Temple, R., Lim, M., Fadashe, C., Sims, C., Sharples, O., & Cottrell, J. (2024). Being Understood: Epistemic Injustice Towards Young People Seeking Support for Their Mental Health. In L. Bortolotti (Ed.), Epistemic Justice in Mental Healthcare: Recognising Agency and Promoting Virtues Across the Life Span (1 ed., pp. 1-22). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-68881-2_1

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Agency in Practice team, Larkin, M, McCabe, R, Bortolotti, L , Broome, M, Craythorne, S-L, Temple, R, Lim, M, Fadashe, C, Sims, C, Sharples, O & Cottrell, J 2024, Being Understood: Epistemic Injustice Towards Young People Seeking Support for Their Mental Health. in L Bortolotti (ed.), Epistemic Justice in Mental Healthcare: Recognising Agency and Promoting Virtues Across the Life Span. 1 edn, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-68881-2_1

Being Understood: Epistemic Injustice Towards Young People Seeking Support for Their Mental Health. / Agency in Practice team; Larkin, Michael; McCabe, Rose et al.
Epistemic Justice in Mental Healthcare: Recognising Agency and Promoting Virtues Across the Life Span. ed. / Lisa Bortolotti. 1. ed. Palgrave Macmillan, 2024. p. 1-22.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review

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T2 - Epistemic Injustice Towards Young People Seeking Support for Their Mental Health

AU - Agency in Practice team

AU - Larkin, Michael

AU - McCabe, Rose

AU - Bortolotti, Lisa

AU - Broome, Matthew

AU - Craythorne, Shioma-Lei

AU - Temple, Rachel

AU - Lim, Michele

AU - Fadashe, Catherine

AU - Sims, Chris

AU - Sharples, Oscar

AU - Cottrell, Josh

PY - 2024/11/17

Y1 - 2024/11/17

N2 - Across many domains, it is important for us to feel that we are understood by others. This is crucial when we are disclosing a vulnerability or seeking help for a problem. When these disclosures or help-seeking requests relate to mental health difficulties, our interactions with others can carry many threats, including stigmatisation; inappropriate moral or character judgements; overly stringent threshold evaluations; and assumptions about our personal circumstances and social resources. In this chapter, we summarise some of the core findings from empirical and qualitative studies which examine what happens when young people meet with health professionals to disclose or to seek help for their experiences with poor mental health. We then draw out some key implications for improving relational and communicative practices amongst mental health professionals. We focus on those implications which are highlighted by those members of our team who are young adults with experiences of accessing mental health services and reflect on these implications in the light of insights from the literature on epistemic injustice.

AB - Across many domains, it is important for us to feel that we are understood by others. This is crucial when we are disclosing a vulnerability or seeking help for a problem. When these disclosures or help-seeking requests relate to mental health difficulties, our interactions with others can carry many threats, including stigmatisation; inappropriate moral or character judgements; overly stringent threshold evaluations; and assumptions about our personal circumstances and social resources. In this chapter, we summarise some of the core findings from empirical and qualitative studies which examine what happens when young people meet with health professionals to disclose or to seek help for their experiences with poor mental health. We then draw out some key implications for improving relational and communicative practices amongst mental health professionals. We focus on those implications which are highlighted by those members of our team who are young adults with experiences of accessing mental health services and reflect on these implications in the light of insights from the literature on epistemic injustice.

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ER -

Agency in Practice team, Larkin M, McCabe R, Bortolotti L , Broome M, Craythorne SL et al. Being Understood: Epistemic Injustice Towards Young People Seeking Support for Their Mental Health. In Bortolotti L, editor, Epistemic Justice in Mental Healthcare: Recognising Agency and Promoting Virtues Across the Life Span. 1 ed. Palgrave Macmillan. 2024. p. 1-22 Epub 2024 Nov 16. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-68881-2_1

Being Understood: Epistemic Injustice Towards Young People Seeking Support for Their Mental Health

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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