‘Massive increase’ in young people seeking mental health support

MENTAL health support services in Dundee have reported a “massive increase” in the number of young people seeking help during lockdown.

As normal face-toface counselling sessions have been suspended, support services have turned to technology in a bid to continue helping young people struggling with their mental health.

Joyce Cherry, a health and wellbeing worker at Craigie High School, has been providing one-on-one counselling support online for young people all over Dundee.

She said: “There has been a massive increase in referrals for support and for the young people I’ve been dealing with, it’s all about this new, unsafe world around us.

“What we are finding is that young people feel the world is dangerous and are thinking, is there a future? That creates anxiety and we can see a lot of depression starting.

“I had one young person explain how she was at the shops with her mum and she felt so anxious, thinking everything around her was going to hurt her. It’s really impacting on young people.”

“Trying to address those needs will be really difficult. As with everywhere, there have been cutbacks, lack of staff, resources and money – we really need something to be put in place.”

Joyce’s concerns come as a leading child protection charity in Scotland claimed that children have become the “hidden victims” of the coronavirus crisis.

Figures released by NSPCC Scotland revealed that in April, May and June the helpline run by the charity made a monthly average of 161 referrals compared to an average of 114 in the three months before lockdown.