Roger Catchpole is unequivocal about the level of awareness of mental health issues among teachers and youth services. The Young Minds principal consultant describes it as "pretty dismal".
"People are often nervous about anything to do with mental health," he explains. "If a teacher sees a child who seems depressed, they worry that if they talk to them they might do more harm than good."
Despite the fact that one in 10 children and young people have a mental health problem, Young Minds has found that 80 per cent of staff in health, education and social care have had no training in children's mental health. "Generally, there is a huge need for further training of anybody working with children and young people," says Catchpole. "It is very difficult to ask professionals who have had no training to be responsive to young people's needs."
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