Mind Cymru responds to report on mental health in children and young people
A report from Public Health Wales has found more than 135,000 children and young people in Wales are estimated to have a diagnosable mental health condition.
Published today, it shows the largest increases have been seen in emotional difficulties such as anxiety, alongside a rise in eating disorders and self-harming behaviours across all genders.
The report also identifies child poverty, social inequality, academic pressure, parental mental health difficulties and digital technology among the factors driving the trends.
Mind Cymru has welcomed the findings in confirming a need for increased levels of mental health support among babies, children and young people, alongside inequalities experienced by different groups in accessing these services.
Simon Jones, Head of Policy and Campaigns, said:
“We’ve known for some time that children and young people’s mental health services haven’t been keeping up with the level of demand in Wales.
"And yet, Mind Cymru’s own guided self-help programme for 11-18 year olds has shown that providing support in the right way can be transformational, with 70% of participants experiencing improved wellbeing.
“What Public Health Wales’ findings show us is that the baseline level of need today is such that there must now be a relentless focus on, and investment in, tackling the barriers to accessing support children and young people continue to face, and we look forward to working with a range of partners to help achieve this.”
