Therapist voices on a youth mental health pilot: Gender, sexual and cultural responsiveness and therapy modality

Abstract There is a need for mental health services for young people. A large pilot project was conducted in Wellington New Zealand for young people aged 18-25 and included an individual CBT-informed therapy component. Therapists were asked about their views using two surveys, individual interviews and focus groups at various stages of the life of the pilot.Therapists commented on cultural responsiveness, therapy (delivery, modality and duration) and working with LGBTQIA+ youth. Some therapists felt CBT was imposed on them and preferred to use therapy-modalities they were familiar with. Many therapists liked CBT for its client-centred approach and reported using CBT-informed approaches with many of their clients to good effect. Some therapists felt pressured by their workplace to see clients for fewer sessions than they needed. Therapists wanted to see a more culturally diverse workforce, to increase their cultural competence through training and to have more easily available cultural supervision. There was some acknowledgement of the importance of training therapists to work competently with LGBTQIA+ young people. Involving therapists in co-design of services from the outset will likely benefit future service development.