Young people with mental health problems feel 'isolated and hopeless'

Fewer than half of children know where to get mental health support, warns Simon Jones, who is head of policy and campaigns at Mind Cymru, a charity which helps people in Wales access mental health information, support and services

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SCHOOLS, online platforms and voluntary organisations are providing “more mental health support than ever” to young people in Wales, a key report last year found.

And yet, that same report found that less than half of children and young people knew where to access mental health support. We at Mind Cymru know that a year on, little has changed.

We spoke with young people in Wales who described themselves as feeling “isolated” and “hopeless” because they don’t meet the threshold for specialist services, but have mild to moderate mental health needs.

For a number of years, it’s been clear there is a gap in support for children and young people whose needs fall between universal and specialist mental health services a space known since as the ‘Missing Middle.

Young people tell us that despite many initiatives, they are still not getting the support they need when they need it. They feel isolated and hopeless, reluctant to seek support in the future and worried about stigma and discrimination.

While they know there is support in schools, there's still a need for a range of care with can meet the needs of the individual young person.

Wales now has a 10-year mental health and well-being strategy for Wales, which is a positive, but seven years from a Senedd committee where that “missing middle” was discussed, there are still gaps.