Mental health of children and young people

Heads up: Mental health of children and young people

Iona Joy, Matthew van Poortvliet and Clare Yeowart

November 2008, 100 pages

Mental health problems don’t just affect adults. Over one million children and young people in the UK suffer from disorders that make it hard for them to cope with every day life: to learn, make friends or deal with stressful situations. Three out of four of these are not receiving adequate treatment and so are more likely to grow into adults with ongoing mental health problems.

NPC's report, Heads up, explores how charities are helping young people recover from mental health problems.

Did you know?

• The average spend on mental health problems is 60% higher for adults than children, even though many adult problems could have been tackled in childhood.
• In England, conduct disorder in children and young people costs £1.5bn every year. NPC estimates that making more treatment available could save society between £244m and £376m.

The report highlights the opportunities for both charities and donors in view of the
following sector priorities:

• strengthening the capacity of the sector to campaign, lobby and fundraise;
• focusing on prevention and tackling problems early;
• improving and sharing the evidence for what works; and
• developing the workforce, through training for teachers, youth workers,
  GPs and other frontline staff.

Click here to download the appendices and cost paper from the report.