Perceived facilitators of and barriers to mental health treatment engagement among decision-making competent adolescents in Greece

BACKGROUND: A subset of adolescents with mental disorders are likely to have decision-making capacity that facilitates their therapy engagement. However, there are high rates of drop-out in mental health settings. AIM: This study aims to identify perceived barriers to or facilitators of mental health care engagement among adolescents with decision-making competence in Greece. METHODS: A qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews of adolescents with a wide range of mental health problems. In addition, two psychometric assessment measures were used to define who to include or exclude from the study sample. RESULTS: Positive attitudes and experiences with therapy were reported as strong (“major”) facilitators of therapy engagement for adolescents with mental disorders, whereas negative experiences with therapy were reported as strong barriers to it. Furthermore, and most importantly, a “good” adolescent-therapist relationship was reported as a strong facilitator, whereas negative experiences of participants with their therapist were reported as strong barriers. Moreover, goals such as getting rid of symptoms, improving personal well-being, and improving social skills and relationships (especially with peers) emerged as strong facilitators of therapy engagement. Importantly, the early remission of symptoms emerged from the study as a strong barrier to therapy engagement for participants. Among the weaker (“minor”) perceived facilitators were goals such as confessing to a trustworthy person, becoming able to achieve personal expectations and life goals, enhancing independence and self-esteem, and developing a positive self-image. The (active or supportive) role of family emerged as a facilitator. The stigma related to mental health emerged as both a (“minor”) facilitator of and barrier to therapy engagement for participants. Friends were reported as having a role ranging from neutral to mildly supportive. CONCLUSION: A number of more or less strong barriers and facilitators were identified that, for the most part, were consistent with prior literature. However, the authors identified some nuances that are of clinical importance. For instance, adolescents are most likely to terminate the treatment prematurely if they experience early symptom remission. Highlighting the role of therapy in achieving their goals or improving their families’ well-being might be used by therapists to reduce the attrition rate. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12888-021-03471-0.