Debate: Are we over-pathologising young people's mental health? The role of participatory research in moving beyond pathology.

Children and young people are subject to well-intentioned mental health research 'for' and 'about' them. The problem is that research is not value-free and carries certain subjective assumptions that shape how we view mental health and illness. Participatory research-which involves children and young people not just as the subjects of research, but as partners and collaborators in different stages of the research process-can be a mechanism through which we can counterbalance an unhelpful 'over-pathologising' research culture. Participatory research can help us retain strengths-based insights and focus on pathways to resilience and to flourishing, while developing interventions to address the psychosocial challenges that many children and young people experience.