Behind the Work

More Than a Focus Group: What Real Co-Production Looks Like

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The phrase “youth voice” gets used a lot in mental health and community work. But what does it really mean to involve young people in shaping services, resources, and systems? More importantly—how do we ensure it’s meaningful, and not just a tick-box exercise?

We’ve all seen it: the token youth consultation, squeezed into the final stage of a nearly finished project. A one-hour focus group. A few post-it notes. A polite thank-you and little follow-up.
That’s not co-production.

Co-production, when done properly, is something much richer, messier, and more powerful. It means building with, not just designing for. It means sharing power, being flexible, and staying open to being challenged.

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Here’s what we’ve learned about what real co-production looks like—and why it matters.

1. Start Before You Think You’re Ready

If you want young people to genuinely shape something, they need to be involved before the idea is fully formed. That means involving them at the very beginning—when you’re still asking, “What do we need?” not “Do you like what we’ve made?”…

Creative Approaches

Healing in Pieces: How Building Things Helped Me Rebuild Myself

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When I was 13, I didn’t have the words for how I felt. I couldn’t explain the heaviness in my chest, the way I’d zone out in lessons, or why I started snapping at people I actually cared about.

What I did have was a shoebox full of plastic bricks, buried in the back of my wardrobe from when I was little.

One day, after a particularly rough afternoon where I’d barely spoken to anyone, I pulled them out. No instructions. No idea what I was making. I just started clicking pieces together.

I didn’t think it was therapy. I didn’t think it was anything, really. But for the first time in weeks, my brain felt… quieter.

I sat there for two hours. Building. Unbuilding. Stacking. Sorting. Not thinking. Just doing.

At school, people saw me as “clever but difficult”. I was either too quiet or too defensive. I got good marks, but never seemed “present”. I knew people were worried about me, but I hated talking about feelings. It always felt like pressure: “How are you?” “Are you okay?” “You can talk to me.” I didn’t know how to answer. I wasn’t sure I could talk.

But give me …

Lived Experience

“I Thought It Was Just Me”: What I Learned About Anxiety at 14

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I used to think I was just bad at life. That was the only way I could explain it. Everyone else seemed to be handling things—lessons, friends, school trips, parents, decisions. I felt like I was always behind, even when I was technically doing okay.

When I was 14, I started getting stomach aches before school. Not just butterflies—real pain. I’d sit at the end of my bed in the morning, fully dressed, not quite able to stand up. Sometimes I’d pace around. Sometimes I’d lie back down and tell myself I just needed five more minutes. Sometimes I’d cry and not really know why.

I didn’t know to call it anxiety. I just thought something was wrong with me.

I was good at hiding it. I got good marks, didn’t get into trouble, laughed at the right times. But inside, I was constantly scanning for something to go wrong. A pop quiz. Someone asking me a question I didn’t know the answer to. A friend going quiet and me assuming I’d upset them. My parents arguing in the kitchen. I carried all of it like it was mine to fix.

I never told anyone. I didn’t want to make …

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