Impact of co-created mental health and life-skill workshops with 12-to-16-year-olds from black and mixed ethnic groups during COVID-19 in the UK: a qualitative study

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted the mental health of young people from minority ethnic communities, yet effective interventions such as mental health psychoeducational workshops, shown to work for other populations, have rarely been offered or investigated among this population. Objectives This qualitative study examines the impact, challenges and benefits of mental health psychoeducational workshops co-created with and for 12-to-16-year-olds from black and mixed ethnic minority groups in London, UK.

Methods 12 (8 female: 3 male) black and mixed ethnic minority 12-to-16-year-olds ( M =16, SD=1.55 years) currently attending a West London community centre co-created, participated in, and fed back on the impact of five mental health and life-skill workshops through one-on-one semi-structured interviews ( M =10 min 8 s, range=3 - 16 min), which were transcribed verbatim. Findings Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of the interviews revealed three superordinate themes, with a total of eight codes clustered: (1) workshop features promoting positive mental health, (2) positive mental health outcomes and (3) workshop features impeding positive mental health outcomes.