Children's Participation Rights: Voicing Opinions in Inpatient Care

Children's participation rights, embedded within legislation and policies, are increasingly becoming important in terms of their meaningful implementation in mental health practice. This paper explores ways that adolescents within an inpatient unit voice their opinions, based on participant observation, interviews and the analysis of documents. The voices of patients were encouraged only within the parameters of a specific form, content, time and place. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the culture of participation within CAMHS.