Gatekeeper training for youth workers: Impact on mental health help-seeking and referral skill

Adults who act as gatekeepers for young people may have the same barriers to help-seeking for mental health issues as young people. This study investigated the personal help-seeking practices of 47 Australian youth workers prior to and after a training workshop on youth mental health issues. Pre-post workshop evaluation revealed some increases in behaviour, intentions and problemsolving capacity but no changes in belief-based barriers} intentions to seek help for suicidal thoughts, or referral skills. The relationships between help-seeking variables and referral skills were explored to investigate the impact that personal help··seeking may have on professional practice.