For many, the effects of the pandemic will not simply end with the easing of the lockdown
Challenges will continue for those who have suffered bereavement, abuse or neglect during the health crisis. Britain needs a system of early mental health support
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While many young people, parents and carers are relieved that schools have re-opened and restrictions are starting to lift, others are very aware that the mental health crisis is far from over.
Over the course of the pandemic, YoungMinds has carried out a series of surveys with young people with a history of mental health problems, showing the huge impact that both the virus and the lockdowns have had. We have heard from young people who have started to self-harm again, who have felt suicidal, who have been having regular panic attacks, or who have lost much of their motivation.
Many told us that the recent lockdown was even harder to cope with than the first one, for a wide range of reasons: a growing sense of isolation, a loss of faith in their prospects for the future, cold weather disrupting basic routines, and greater academic pressure, while learning from home.
While most believe that the lifting of restrictions will help, two-thirds of those who took part in our recent survey thought that the pandemic would have a long-term negative impact on their mental health.
Some are concerned about whether their friendships will recover, whether they will get the grades they had previously hoped for, and whether they will ever find a job. Many feel that they have lost out on a substantial part of their lives. For young people who have undergone traumatic experiences – including bereavement, abuse or neglect – the effects will not end with the easing of the lockdown. As ever, it is often those who are already marginalised or disadvantaged who are most likely to be most impacted by the pandemic.
The last few months have exposed the gaps in our mental health system. While professionals in the NHS, schools and charities have worked around the clock to adapt and improve services, the reality is that too many young people haven’t had the level of support they need.
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In our most recent survey, just over half (54 per cent) of 13 to 25 year olds who require mental health support had been able to access help over the course of the pandemic. The rest had either chosen not to look for help, or had looked but not been able to find support.
This is partly for technological reasons. Young people have mixed feelings about virtual and digital support – practically and emotionally, this is not a form of help that works for everyone. We also heard about other barriers to support, including long waiting times, hidden waiting times (where initial support is followed by delays), about school counselling coming to an abrupt end, about young people losing faith in the system after poor experiences.
There is also a worrying stigma about seeking mental health support, with many young people concerned about being a "burden" on services during the pandemic. Ihe NHS is providing mental health support to more young people than ever before, but it is still a long way from meeting the scale of need.
We welcome the government's recent commitment to putting £79 million towards children and young people’s mental health services, from the £500m pledged to NHS mental health services in November’s Spending Review - but this funding will only go so far. The acceleration of the rollout of Mental Health Support Teams is very positive, but will make a limited difference over the next few months, and reach around a third of schools by 2023.
Right now, young people need to be able to catch up socially and emotionally, to feel safe, to have opportunities to have fun and to do the things they enjoy. Some are also likely to need pastoral or mental health support, including many who will not meet the threshold for NHS services.
While it is good news that £1.7 billion has been allocated to schools for "catch-up", none of this is explicitly earmarked for mental health, and government messaging has continued to focus more upon academic catch-up than the importance of wellbeing. We believe one solution would be a short-term resilience fund to ensure schools can bring in wellbeing and mental health support relevant and tailored to their pupils’ needs – including the existing workforce of counsellors and support from local charities.
We also need government action to prioritise early intervention outside schools. Youth organisations and local charities play a critical role in providing early support, which prevents young people from reaching crisis point – and it is vital that these services are fully supported.
Ultimately, the government should also learn from countries like Australia and create a new system of early mental health support, through a hub model in local communities. This could build on existing services in the UK, like centres that use Youth Access’s YIACS model, but would need to be available in every part of the country. This should also be part of a new young people’s mental health strategy that places more emphasis on early intervention as well as prevention, and which addresses the inequalities that fuel poor mental health.
Many young people have shown remarkable resilience over the last few months, and it gives me hope to talk to those who have received the support they needed when they needed it. But we must be under no illusions about the scale of the challenge we face.
As we begin to emerge from the pandemic, we have to learn the lessons of the last year, prioritise mental health and ensure that young people live in a society that fully supports them.
Emma Thomas is chief executive of children and young people's mental health charity YoungMinds
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