Chronic under-resourcing of mental health services is letting young people down, and they have ideas on how to fix it.
Mental health services
A mental health service that works for young people
Our health service is clearly part of the system and institutions impacting young people's mental health. Young people are being failed by mental health services, the key institution built to support and improve their mental health.
Just like the education system, young people think Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services (CYPMHS, also known as CAMHS) needs an overhaul. They want to see a more accessible, stable and high-quality health system so that everyone who needs support can access better quality mental health support.
Quality of services
Many young people expressed they want to see more treatment options beyond CBT, and would like to be able to access early intervention without any thresholds. In their view, the healthcare system needs to be more understanding and caring, and ensure it does not discriminate against minoritised groups.
Better mental health education and understanding from older generations is also needed. And improving mental health support, including funding, access, education, and recognition, is seen as vital.
The people who work in the NHS mental health sector are not well trained and often do not understand mental illness... People need to listen and help before it’s too late. So many people are let down by the NHS services and so many times they have left me mentally worse than to begin with.
Over 70% of 16 to 24 year olds hoped that prevention and early intervention would be prioritised in a national mental health plan.
70% of respondents aged 18-24 expressed the need for more support and care for people experiencing a mental health crisis.
Getting help and support
Our research found that younger age groups are less comfortable seeking mental health support than older age groups, and factors like someone's gender, ethnicity, religion, health status, and age influence their likelihood to seek help.
We found there to be key differences between different communities:
Friends and family are the most popular choice for seeking support, but many young people are unsure where to go for help. Although they’re more likely to seek support, those who identify as Trans or Non-binary were less likely to know where to go to receive help for their mental health, as were Black and Buddhist young people.
When it comes to speaking to their families about mental health, Muslim young people were the least likely to do so, with less than a quarter feeling able to open up.
Black and racialised young people in general were much less likely than white young people to feel able to talk to their families.
Inequality in accessing services
Inequalities were clear when assessing the wait times for young people to be seen. When asked how they felt about the waiting time for support, 58% of young people said they were dissatisfied with how long they had to wait.
We also found that waiting times for treatment vary depending on multiple factors, including the characteristics and region of the young person seeking treatment.
Trans young people were more likely to wait longer for mental health support. 13% said they were still waiting after a year, compared to 8% of non-Trans young people.
Young Black people and those who preferred not to state their ethnicity were the most likely ethnic groups to be waiting more than a year for support.
Those in the North West were slightly more likely to be waiting more than a year for support at 12%.
Londoners were likely to receive support quicker than other areas. 8% were still waiting for support after a year.
Those with health conditions or learning differences were more likely to wait longer for support than their peers without any conditions.
Crisis during the wait for support
We found that long waiting times for support have negative consequences for young people seeking help, with 59% reporting worsening mental health while waiting to be seen.
The wait for support also affects other areas of a young person's life, with many reporting problems in family and friend relationships and their physical health.
For gay and Trans young people, there are bigger gaps in facing crisis and seeing a crisis team, with higher rates of suicide attempts and lower rates of crisis team contact.
Mixed-race and other ethnicities also had high rates of suicide attempts, while Asian young people had low crisis team contact despite high suicide attempt rates.
A new vision for services
When asked what they’d like to see in a national Government plan for mental health, young people had plenty of ideas.
Young people are hopeful they'll get to see a mental health service that prioritises prevention and early intervention, community support and care for those experiencing a mental health crisis.
They prioritised issues they'd like to see addressed by the Government depending on their individual circumstances.
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Non-binary, LGBTQIA+, and Trans individuals want services that are sensitive to their culture and identity.
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Non-binary, LGBTQIA+, and Trans individuals are also more concerned about addressing the quality and safety of mental health treatment and other kinds of stigma than those identifying as male, female and non-Trans.
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Young people with health conditions expected clear standards on waiting times for NHS services.
To improve mental health services for young people, prevention, early intervention, staff training, and culturally competent services are crucial, as well as improved crisis support.
Information and advice for young people
If you're a young person affected by any of the issues mentioned here, know that you are not alone. For help and support, take a look at our information and advice guides.
