Sources of help for young people dealing with mental health difficulties
Sometimes it helps to feel that you are not alone in struggling against a difficulty. The Young Minds charity has published these research findings on their website. Research from many sources shows that many of our young people are facing challenges. The charity is campaigning for improved provision for these individuals and that cannot happen soon enough as you will see.
Mental health is a big issue for young people…
1 in 10 children have a diagnosable mental health disorder – that’s roughly 3 children in every classroom (i)
1 in 5 young adults have a diagnosable mental health disorder (ii)
Half of all mental health problems manifest by the age of 14, with 75% by age 24 (iii)
Almost 1 in 4 children and young people show some evidence of mental ill health (including anxiety and depression) (iv)
In 2015, suicide was the most common cause of death for both boys (17% of all deaths) and girls (11%) aged between 5 and 19. (v)
1 in 12 young people self-harm at some point in their lives, though there is evidence that this could be a lot higher. (vi)
It has a big impact in adulthood…
1 in 3 adult mental health conditions relate directly to adverse childhood experiences. (viii)
Young people need more support…
3 in 4 children with a diagnosable mental health condition do not get access to the support that they need (ix)
The average maximum waiting time for a first appointment with CAMHS is 6 months and nearly 10 months until the start of treatment (x)
CAMHS are turning away nearly a quarter (23%) of children referred to them for treatment by concerned parents, GPs, teachers and others (xi)
Young Minds
https://youngminds.org.uk/about-us/media-centre/mental-health-stats/
What can we do?
We don't want the picture to be just bleak. Firstly, there is a lot more awareness of mental health issues and that can only be helpful. We have resources on our website at https://AConfidentStart.com/resources that are free and you may find helpful for your young people. There are also some excellent charities working in this area and providing helpful advice on anxiety, depression and other issues that our young people may be struggling with. We recommend some great ones at the end of this article.
Personal Therapy
Sometimes it is helpful for a young person to work through their difficulties with a professional therapist. I provide individual therapy for children and young people in Oxford and Woodstock https://aconfidentstart.com.
Clinical Psychology is practical, active and based on research. It involves trying things out, working through problems, learning new techniques and strengthening skills and abilities. It creates change.
There are Clinical Psychologists across the country who are able to provide support in this way - https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb for one of the ways to find them. There are also NHS services to support. You can access these via your GP or find your local CAMHS (Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service) - in Oxfordshire it is here https://www.oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/camhs/contacts/oxon/
I send best wishes to you and your families. I hope that you find the support that you are looking for.
All best wishes,
Helen
Dr Helen Care
Clinical Psychologist
A Confident Start
Psychology that works for your family
Great websites for supporting Young People
Childline 0800 1111
NSPCC www.nspcc.org.uk
PAPYRUS (Young suicide prevention society).
HOPElineUK 0800 068 4141
(Mon to Fri,10am to 5pm & 7 to 10pm. Weekends 2 to 5pm)
Young Minds https://youngminds.org.uk
References for research
i. Green H et al (2005) Mental health of children and young people in Great Britain, 2004. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan.
ii. Green H et al (2005) Mental health of children and young people in Great Britain, 2004. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan.
iii. Kessler RC et al. (2005). ‘Lifetime Prevalence and Age-of-Onset Distributions of DSM-IV Disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication’.
iv. ONS (2016) Selected Children’s Well-being Measures by Country: 3 CentreForum (2016) Commission on Child
vi. Brooks, F. et al. (2015) HBSC England National Report 2014. University of Hertfordshire; Hatfield, UK.
viii. Kessler, R. (2010) ‘Childhood adversities and adult psychopathology in the WHO World Mental Health Surveys’ British Journal of Psychiatry 197(5): 378–385.
ix. Green H et al (2005) Mental health of children and young people in Great Britain, 2004. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan.
x. Frith, E. (2016) CentreForum Commission on Children and Young People’s Mental Health: State of the Nation
xi. Frith, E. (2016) CentreForum Commission on Children and Young People’s Mental Health: State of the Nation