04/06/26
3 min read
A new in-depth report from the Nuffield Foundation offers a focussed perspective on journeys through mental health support available to young people, as they navigate the challenging transition from childhood to adulthood.
Despite data showing that more young people than ever are reporting issues with their mental health, the fragmented and complex system is described by young people as ‘higgledy piggledy’ with services difficult to navigate, hard to access and over reliant on medication.
Ages 14 to 24 is when many young people first experience symptoms associated with different mental health conditions. At the same time, they are experiencing other major life changes and this also coincides with a significant shift in how they can access medical support, as they transition from using health services for children to those for adults.
The report shows that young people often struggle to access narrowly defined siloed services during this time that are not meeting their needs. The report, published today, is the third in a series of data commentaries released under the Grown up? Journeys to Adulthood programme. It examines the mental health needs of young people and the range of services available, bringing together data on prevalence of mental ill health and access to mental health services from published surveys and administrative data collections. Young people and practitioners have played a significant role in sharing their insights through deep dive interviews and workshops and helping create a map of systems providing mental health support to young people.
Data shows that there is a gap between the level of need and the level of support. One in 4 young people aged 16 to 24 have a common mental health condition and around 1 in 7 have symptoms corresponding to a severe level of need. Whilst around 1 in 10 young people aged 16-24 had been in contact with mental health services, only around 1 in 25 had two contacts or more, indicating limited access to treatment.
In addition, the report shows that many young people who would benefit from help are experiencing barriers to access, long waits and so turn to informal systems for help and support, sometimes seeking information and help online. There is also a postcode lottery with some support determined by where young people live and some new initiatives only available as pilots.
More than 840,000 young people aged 15-24 are prescribed some medicine for their mental health and many of the young people interviewed as part of this project were concerned about the limited options available. However, the report identifies a significant role for digital support with the options expanding rapidly. For many, this acts as a digital front door to formal mental health support, making it more accessible for those who find it hard to access services otherwise.
Additionally, the report also looks at how ill-equipped the current system is to respond to young people with a combination of vulnerabilities in their lives, such as those who are NEET (Not in education, employment or training) as well as young people growing up in care and those living in poverty.
Carey Oppenheim, Project Lead for ‘Grown up?’, said:
“Good mental health helps young people thrive in life. Support needs to be timely, seamless and accessible when and where young people need it. Systems that are based on age milestones, professional silos and diagnostic thresholds are missing crucial opportunities to offer help earlier, in formal and informal settings, and to genuinely support young people at a time when they face many challenges. Putting young people and their support networks at the centre of policy and practice is the key to supporting young people’s mental health as they become adults.”
