This timely collection explores how children display social competence
in talking about their mental health and wellbeing. The authors analyse
recorded conversations of young people's interactions with professionals
in which they disclose particular mental health concerns and their ways
of coping, drawing on insights from ethnomethodology, conversation
analysis and discursive psychology. Across a diverse range of
institutional and international settings, chapters examine how children
and young people employ interactional strategies to demonstrate their
competence. The research reveals how young people resist or protect
claims that they lack competence, especially in contexts where they
might be seen as seeking or asking for support, or when their
(dis)abilities and mental health is explicitly up for discussion.
Each chapter concludes with a reflection on the methodological,
professional and practical implications of the findings, highlighting
areas where future research is necessary and addressing the empirical
findings from the authors professional vision, facilitating innovative
dialogue between conversation analytic research and professional vision.
This book will be of great value to academics and professionals
interested in how children express themselves, particularly in relation
to their mental wellbeing.