The path to care: Exploring mental health help-seeking among youth using a transdiagnostic staging model.

• Grant number: 25/09944-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2025
• End date: August 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Psychiatry
• Principal Investigator: Rodrigo Affonseca Bressan
• Grantee: Samantha Xavier Souza
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 21/05332-8 - Brazilian high-risk cohort for psychiatric disorders: 10 years follow-up, AP.TEM

Abstract

This study examines mental health help-seeking behavior among young people, with an emphasis on analyzing the sociodemographic and psychological profiles associated with this practice. Using the transdiagnostic clinical staging model, the research seeks to understand how different stages of psychopathology influence the search for mental health services, as well as to identify risk and protective factors that affect this behavior. In addition, barriers, such as stigma and lack of mental health literacy, that hinder early access to care are investigated. From this approach, we hope to contribute to the development of strategies that promote early, more effective and accessible interventions, strengthening public policies aimed at young people's mental health.