Thinking differently to support children and young people’s mental health

At Anna Freud, we believe this is what has happened over the past few decades within children and young people’s mental health.

And this is why, despite an overall increase in funding over the past 20 years, mental health services for children and young people are currently overwhelmed.

Our Thinking differently manifesto, released on 17 April, brings together a five-point plan to tackle the treatment gap that is so negatively impacting our younger generations.

At its heart is a call for political parties and the next government to renew their focus on prevention, early intervention and meaningful youth voice to close the gap in children and young people’s mental health.

What’s in our five-point plan?

Our five-point plan aligns science, research and lived experience in a way that we believe could radically change how we approach children and young people’s mental health. It focuses on:

• Giving young people a meaningful say in an expanded approach to prevention: At the moment, prevention is largely funded by the voluntary sector and, partly because of this, there is no centralised plan in place. We’re calling for this to change through a doubling of the current budget spent on prevention alongside the creation of an integrated prevention programme. This should utilise the latest evidence and science alongside the meaningful involvement of young people. Young people are experts in their own lives and government needs to develop genuine partnerships and co-design solutions together. 

• Focus on communities: Put simply, we need to go back to our communities with increased funding for assets like parks, sports centres and libraries to build local support networks and improve wellbeing. All the data is telling us that mental ill health among many marginalised communities is rising at a faster pace than the young population as a whole. It’s essential that we include these groups in community-based solutions and ringfence additional funding to tackle the inequity they face in mental health support.

• Adopt a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing: We have more children missing school time than ever before. We need to change how we approach the school system by promoting social, emotional and physical development as well as academic achievement. Additional training for all school staff on how to build good mental wellbeing – for their students and themselves – would complement this.

• Widen our collective understanding of childhood trauma: This must include increased spending on developing digital prevention strategies and early intervention services for children and young people impacted by trauma.   

• Leverage a more effective use of science and data: We’re asking for policy makers to adopt a regular nationwide measurement of young people’s mental health and wellbeing, and create a single point for children and young people to access resources and services. More high-quality data is what our five-point plan relies on.

The difference we could make

As we approach a general election, we have an opportunity to align science, research and lived experience in a way that could radically change how we approach children and young people’s mental health.

Let’s make mental wellbeing the foundation, not the fix. And let’s truly empower those who have the most at stake, and do so at the earliest opportunity.

Professor Peter Fonagy is chief executive of mental health charity, Anna Freud. Read more at www.annafreud.org/manifesto