Embodiment & Experience: An Inter-generational Dialogue on Experience, Values, and Disruption in Mental Health Workshop

By: Arianna Dotsey, NeurOx Young People’s Advisory Group (YPAG)

On the 15th of August 2025, at St Luke’s Chapel, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter in Oxford, I had the privilege of attending the ANTITHESES Workshop on embodiment, experience, and intergenerational dialogue in youth mental health. The workshop brought together young people and researchers to explore complex, polarising topics in youth mental health, such as self-diagnosis. The workshop also provided a space to challenge assumptions and to learn from one another.

As a NeurOx Young People’s Advisory Group (YPAG) member, I initially felt excited but also a bit nervous; however, the workshop turned out to be one of the most engaging and thought-provoking experiences I’ve had in a while. The event began with refreshments and introductions from facilitators and YPAG allies, with participants seated at mixed tables of young people and researchers to foster intergenerational dialogue.

The rest of the day featured a series of 30-minute presentations from leading voices in child and adolescent mental health and phenomenology, each followed by Q&A and table discussions. YPAG allies joined every table to ensure youth voices were heard and to prevent any single perspective from dominating discussions, which I really appreciated as a young person.

Professor Jonathan Green opened with a fascinating talk on autistic experience. He left us with a discussion question: What would be the best way of establishing knowledge about the core features of the autistic experience?

Next, Professor Havi Carel explored radical bodily doubt, examining concepts such as bodily certainty, continuity, and what makes doubt “radical.” The audience raised numerous questions, and further table discussions deepened our engagement with the topic. After a short refreshment break, Professor Michael Larkin spoke about learning with, from, and about young people through a dialogical approach to understanding experience in youth mental health research, sparking lively debates and discussions.

A particularly interesting session was Dr Lucy Osler’s talk on AI and distributed delusions, which raised ethical questions about the emerging role of AI in mental health diagnosis and therapy.

After lunch, the workshop’s centrepiece was a 90-minute interactive discussion on radical disagreements in youth mental health, covering self-diagnosis, medication, and AI therapy. YPAG members wrote their thoughts on green post-its, while researchers used blue ones, ensuring everyone contributed equally. The atmosphere was open, and I felt comfortable sharing my perspectives and even when disagreements arose, every voice was respected. 

After a short break, Professor Matthew Broome presented an engaging talk on epistemic injustice, phenomenology, and youth mental health, stressing that youth-appropriate care must consider developmental and cultural factors. He highlighted how young people’s lived experiences are often overlooked, particularly those with psychosis. His questions: To what extent should lived experience inform care in youth mental health? What are the benefits and challenges of a lived experience or phenomenological approach? And what can be done to ensure that young people are given agency in mental health care contexts (in research, in inpatient settings, etc.), sparked really deep and meaningful discussions across tables.

The day concluded with Professor Argyris Stringaris’ talk on the trouble with subjectivity in psychiatric nosology, questioning whose standards define what counts as a psychiatric illness. He left the audience with a final thought: What does it mean to validate someone’s feelings, and are there circumstances where one shouldn’t?

As I left St Luke’s Chapel, I felt a deep appreciation for the researchers, facilitators, and the immense work they do and most of all, I saw how vital youth voices can be in shaping mental health research.