More support needed for youth mental health ‘black hole'

YoungMinds has said that a fresh approach to supporting young people is needed, after finding that three out of four parents say their children's mental health deteriorated while waiting for NHS support.

The charity’s report warns of ‘a black hole in youth and community services’ where hundreds of youth centres have been forced to closed and thousands of youth workers have been lost, meaning young people now have fewer trusted adults to help them cope.

Surveying over 2,000 parents and carers whose children have looked for mental health support, the report found that 76 per cent said their children had become more unwell before they could access treatment, while 86 per cent of parents whose children had waited more than six months said their offspring's health had deteriorated.

Furthermore, 69 per cent said neither they nor their children had been told of any other form of support while they were waiting for children and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). The government;s proposed plans to introduce mental health support teams in schools has been seen as a step in the right direction, but YoungMinds says that this would cover ‘less than a quarter of areas by 2022-23’.

Emma Thomas, chief executive of YoungMinds, said: "The crisis in young people's mental health is real and it's urgent. Crucially we also need to invest in new ways for young people to get help early on, before they require more specialist treatment. Every community must have spaces where young people can go to feel safe, work through how they're feeling, and learn strategies to help them manage and start to feel better."