CYP Now - Joined-up thinking on mental health

The physical support needs of teenagers give only half of the picture relating to health and wellbeing needs. The teenage years are a notoriously difficult period, with many people feeling alone and unable to rely on their friends or parents for support. Often, teenagers feel self-doubt as they grow up through this experimental period, throughout which they are in search of identity and independence. But concerns about the emotional wellbeing should not just be limited to teenagers.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics released in 1998 indicated that about one in 10 children aged five to 15 have a mental disorder of sufficient severity to either cause distress or have a considerable effect on the way they live.

Tackling this issue effectively is not just a job for specialist agencies. This was brought out in recent research from Scotland, which emphasised the need to address the whole continuum of mental health, from mental health promotion and prevention through to dealing with more complex and severe cases of mental ill health. It also suggested that mental health promotion should underpin all work with children and young people.

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