A Participatory Approach to Developing Adolescent Support Groups Focusing on Social Emotional Wellbeing: Lessons from a Community-Based Intervention Conducted in Gothamipura, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Adolescent mental health remains a growing concern in underserved urban communities in Sri Lanka. This study aimed to develop a culturally relevant support group model for adolescents in Gothamipura using a participatory approach. The objectives were to create a replicable context-sensitive intervention, enhancesocial-emotional wellbeing of participating adolescents, and offer a replicable framework for developing community-based psychosocial interventions in similar settings. The methodology involved two phases. The first phase involved focused group discussions and consultations with adolescents to understand social emotional focus areas. The second phase included designing sessions, pilot testing, and multiple feedbackand impact assessment sessions. A total of 26 sessions were conducted over 12 months, leading to the development of a support group model with 12 sessions. The model focused on three core areas: emotional awareness, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness. Session content was refined iteratively basedon facilitator observations and participant feedback. Impact assessments showed improved understanding of emotions, greater awareness of distress tolerance strategies, and increased engagement in interpersonal skills, though comprehension levels varied among participants. The structured yet adaptable framework that emerged to develop the model highlights the importance of grounding psychosocial interventions inthe lived experiences of adolescents and incorporating continuous feedback throughout the development process. While the model showed promise, limitations included the absence of pre-post quantitative evaluation and challenges in sustaining the intervention beyond facilitator-led sessions. This study contributes to existing knowledge by demonstrating how participatory methods can support the design oflocally meaningful psychosocial programs for adolescents in low-resource, and marginalized settings.