Nearly a quarter of 16-year-old girls in England have been in contact with NHS mental health, autism and learning disabilities services in the last year.
The new figures show a huge increase in the number of children and adolescents seeking help, with almost a million contacting the NHS.
There has been an increase across all age groups, with almost a fifth more people needing support compared to three years ago.
Data shows a 29% increase in 2021/22 in the number of children under 18 in contact with mental healthlearning disability and autism services compared to 2020/21.
Some 992,647 needed support in 2021/22, up from 768,083 in 2020/21 and 763,888 in 2019/20.
Overall, 18% of the country’s 16-year-olds (114,203) and 17% of 17-year-olds (101,694) have been in contact with these services in the last year.
16-year-old girls were more likely to need support with 23% (69,580) seeking help in the last year.
The number of 11-15 year olds in contact with services also increased, from 359,681 in 2020/21 to 498,558 in 2021/22, an increase of 39%.
‘Unprecedented crisis’
Olly Parker, YoungMinds’ head of external affairs, said: “These figures demonstrate the unprecedented crisis occurring in youth mental health, with nearly one in five 16-year-olds across the country coming into contact with services. of mental health The situation is untenable.
“Thousands of young people seek mental health support, but many are told to wait, struggle to cope and reach a crisis point before getting help.
“We know that young women in particular face a wide range of pressures that can affect their mental health, from school stress to difficult relationships with family or friends to body image issues and concerns, often exacerbated by social networks.
“For years, politicians have promised to end the youth mental health crisis. But the reality is that with every month of inaction, things get worse.”
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Sharp increase in young people with mental health problems
Data from NHS Digital shows that 3,256,695 people of all ages were in contact with services for mental health, learning disabilities and autism at some point during the year; 992,647 of them were under 18 years of age.
The overall total has risen by almost a fifth in three years, up from 2,803,244 in 2020/21, 2,878,636 in 2019/20, and 2,726,721 in 2018/19.
This means that 5.8% of the population of England have been in contact with NHS mental health services in the last year.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email [email protected] in the United Kingdom. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
