This question was the focus of a presentation by Dr. Dorothee Horstkötter (Maastricht University) at an international meeting on transdiagnostic youth psychiatric research, held in Bern, Switzerland, on 19 June 2026.
Drawing on experiences from European research projects, including YOUTHreach, Dr. Horstkötter explored how youth involvement in research has evolved over the past decade. Rather than participating solely as research subjects, young people are increasingly taking on active roles as co-designers, advisors and co-researchers, helping to shape research, interventions and implementation strategies.
The presentation highlighted YOUTHreach as an example of how meaningful stakeholder engagement can strengthen mental health research. Throughout the project, young people, mental health professionals and other stakeholders work alongside researchers to ensure that interventions are relevant, accessible and responsive to the needs of diverse groups of young people. This collaborative approach is embedded across the project through the Youth Advisory Group (YAG), as well as engagement with clinicians, healthcare providers and policy stakeholders. By involving end users throughout the research process, YOUTHreach aims to ensure that its findings can be translated into sustainable, youth-friendly mental health services across Europe.
While youth participation has become an essential component of contemporary mental health research, the presentation also addressed important challenges. Meaningful engagement requires careful consideration of who is represented, how participation is organised and whether all young people have equal opportunities to contribute. The discussion highlighted the importance of reaching beyond highly educated, English-speaking young adults to include younger adolescents and young people with diverse educational, cultural and lived-experience backgrounds. It also explored the balance between meaningful participation and the practical realities of complex scientific research, recognising that different stages of research may require different forms of engagement.
The presentation concluded that youth participation is no longer an optional addition to research: it is becoming a defining feature of high-quality youth mental health research. At the same time, further research is needed to better understand how participation can be organised in ways that are inclusive, ethical and impactful.
These principles lie at the heart of YOUTHreach. By bringing together researchers, young people, clinicians and community partners, the project is working towards accessible, evidence-based mental health support that is designed with (and not just for) young people. A key example of this commitment is the work of the YOUTHreach YAG whose experiences and contributions have recently been captured in the YAG Impact Report. The report reflects on how young people have influenced the project, the lessons learned and recommendations for meaningful youth engagement in future research initiatives.
📷 Dr. Dorothee Horstkötter presenting at the conference in Bern.
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