Neon Young Norway

Our research project aims to:

I. Enhance understanding about young people’s recovery narratives

II. Create digital health technology resources, including Social Impact Games, that make recovery narratives accessible to other young people, offering support and opportunities to integrate these narratives into their own recovery process.

To achieve these goals, we:

• Catalog the distinctive features of recovery narratives
• Explore how recovery narratives are understood and utilized
• Examine the immediate impact and power of recovery narratives
• Craft social impact games and interactive media inspired by the recovery narratives we have gathered.

By the project’s end, our goal is to have developed a digital health intervention tailored for young people facing mental health issues and to have contributed valued insights professionals and others who engage with young people.

A recovery narrative is a personal story about living with or experiencing mastery of mental health issues. These stories can include accounts of touch times, how individuals have fought through difficulties, what they find helpful, how they endure, and/or how they move forward.  

In this study, you will often see recovery narratives referred to as coping and mastery stories.

Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP) is an expert panel consisting of individuals aged 16-30 who have personal experiences with mental health issues. The participants come from diverse background and regions across Norway. They meet digitally 2-4 times a year to ensure that the voices and perspectives of young people are represented throughout the project period. This includes contributing to the design, analysis, and dissemination of research findings. Additionally, LEAP serves as important discussion partners in the selection of concepts and development to LEAP of games and health technology resources tailored to the needs and desires of young people.

Mental Health Youth Organisation organizes the panel, which is led by Jone Trovåg.

• Hun trodde ikke hun skulle bli 18. Nå vil Ilja hjelpe andre - Mentalt Perspektiv
• Er du mellom 16 og 30 år? (Erfaringskompetanse.no)
• Dataspill skal bedre unges psykiske helse (Erfaringskompetanse.no)

Project Advisory Board (PAB) is an advisory expert panel consisting of individuals with diverse expertise relevant to the NEON Young Norway study. The panel will provide advice and guidance to the project management throughout all phases of the project. They will focus on ethics, methodological choices, issues, related to Sami language and culture, recovery, e-health research, and the involvement of young people`s voices.

The PAB will meet digitally eight times during the project period. 

Oversikt over hjelpetjenester og organisasjoner (pdf)

The NEON Young Norway Study promotes a strength-based and health-promoting approach to mental health, focusing on young people’s expertise, strengths, and strategies rather than problems and diagnoses. We recognize the valuable contributions of young people in developing tailored support and follow-up that meets their needs and desires. The project is based on two established frameworks for recovery and citizenship. The recovery framework describes five key processes in a person’s coping and recovery process, and is known by the acronym CHIME – connection, hope, identity, meaning, empowerment. The citizenship framework consists of the individual’s strong connection to the 5 Rs – rights, responsibilities, roles, resources, and relationships – which society makes available to its citizens and the experience of belonging that is validated by others.

Short film by Professor Rowe, who developed the framework:

Citizenship: The 5 Rs and Belonging

NEON Young Collection

Young individuals aged 16-30 with stories of coping and recovery to share.

Share your story

NEON Young Implementation

• Young people who incorporate others’ recovery narratives into their own recovery process
• Professionals who employ recovery narratives in treating and supporting young people with mental health issues.

Join the interview

NEON Young Collection

We aim to

• Collect recovery narratives from young people aged 16-30.
• Identify and analyze characteristics of young people’s recovery narratives.
• Discover reasons why individuals chose to share their stories with others.

To learn more about NEON Young Collection, read information for participants or contact PhD candidate Kristin Øksendal Børresen or principal investigator Kristin Berre Ørjasæter.

A South Sami description is found here: Sïjhth meatan årrodh dotkemeprosjektesne The NEON Young Norway Study? (pdf)

NEON Young Implementation

We aim to:

• Investigate how young people and helpers understand and use recovery narratives.
• Explore barriers and opportunities associated with recovery narratives.
• Identify future possibilities for digital mental health support, focusing on service design and the role of recovery narratives.
• Examine the immediate impact of recovery narratives on young people  

To learn more about NEON Young Implementation, read information for participants or contact PhD candidate Malle Vogelsang, post doctor Anna Leiler, or principal investigator Kristin Berre Ørjasæter.

NEON Young Interactive

We aim to:  

• Identify the prevalence and use of young people’s recovery narratives in interactive media/social impact games.
• Understand how developers integrate recovery stories into storytelling and game design.
• Develop social impact games and interactive graphic narratives based on young people`s recovery narratives.
• Explore young people’s experiences with recovery stories in interactive media and social impact games.  

The games are developed by bachelor`s students in game and entertainment technology at Nord University.  

For more information about NEON Young Interactive, contact PhD candidate Teddy Nambaziira, associate professor Helga Dis-Isfold Sigurdarddottir or principal investigator Kristin Berre Ørjasæter 

NEON Youth Intervention

We aim to:  

• Develop a digital platform for a complex health intervention that includes recovery narratives from young people, for young people and their helpers.
• Assess the feasibility of using NEON Youth Intervention.
• Gather knowledge with the goal of a future NEON Young randomized study.
• Develop educational and learning resources for young people and their helpers.

For more Information about NEON Youth Intervention, contact associate professor Cathrine Fredriksen Moe or principal investigator Kristin Berre Ørjasæter.