According to the Office for National Statistics, 10 per cent of young people from five to 15 years old are currently suffering from a diagnosable mental disorder. This equates to 1.1 million young people, with 40 per cent not receiving any specialist service to support them. Statistics such as these become alarming when you consider those children below five and young people over 15 who are not accounted for.
A mental disorder can be anything from depression or an eating disorder to a more serious psychosis. The causes of mental health disorders in children are complex and wide ranging. This is where the Government sees the child and adolescent mental health service as bringing together all the agencies involved in a child's life to treat and support the social as well as the physical manifestations of mental disorder. This means the service must work with, and commission, local primary care trusts and social services so that every young person gets the care they need.
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