Lockdown has seen generation desperate for charity support
CRUSADE
DEMAND for online mental health support for families has risen nearly 50 per cent in the past two years, showing the extent of the crisis among young people during the pandemic.
Mental health charity Youngminds runs a helpline that parents can call, email or webchat for advice and emotional support about a young person in their care. From 2019 to 2021 demand rose 48 per cent.
From last September to January the top three concerns among parents using the services were anxiety (47 per cent of calls), depression (24 per cent) and problems with school and school refusal (19 per cent).
The charity has also had a 57 per cent increase in use of its webchat service.
It also said 1.3 million parents accessed its parent pages last year – up 44 per cent on 2020 – and last year the “Find Help” webpages had a 62 per cent increase in users, surging to 2.9 million.
It is estimated 15 per cent, or 1.5 million, children in England have new or worsening mental health issues because of the pandemic and lockdown measures.
Some 2,000 children are being referred to mental health services every day.
Before lockdown one in nine children had a diagnosed mental health problem. Now it is one in six, NHS data reveals.
Stevie Goulding, parent helpline comanager at Youngminds, said: “What has been very evident on the frontline at the moment is that school-based problems seem to be really prevalent.
“This is largely because the return to school after lockdown was really challenging. Pupils had been in such a safe environment, in a protected bubble with their family, and then they had to go back into the world and socialise in groups.
“This has caused a lot of anxiety and it was exacerbated by the Christmas break this year, because lockdown and isolation was very much at the forefront of the country’s mind.
“This has manifested itself in so many ways: social anxiety; fear of loved ones getting ill; health anxiety around cleanliness and hygiene as well as seeping into general anxiety about ordinary life.
“There is definitely going to be a lasting impact from this.
“We are still in the pandemic but when we are out of it we can discuss retrospectively the stress that the experiences of the past few years has caused. There will be a big legacy here – demand for services pre-covid was already extremely high.”
Mental health services are at breaking point. Waiting times for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services are up to a record three years in some areas.
CAMHS is having to turn down up to 50 per cent of referrals deemed “not bad enough” to qualify for its specialised help.
The Sunday Express is campaigning to ensure no child is put in danger through waiting times. It comes as many parents currently calling Youngminds are concerned about what to do if their child is refused help “until they get worse”.
The charity is campaigning for a national rollout of early support hubs in every community so young people can get mental health help as soon as they need it. Ms Goulding added: “One of the most notable differences during the pandemic has been the number of parents calling.they are concerned about how to support their children and they are being impacted by seeing their child struggling.
“Limited access to services, not being able to access your GP in person, appointments not happening – these have all caused problems.
“Many are being told their children do not meet the criteria to qualify for help and that they have to get worse in order for professionals to take notice. So what do you do in the meantime?
“It is worrying. Our goal is that young people get access when they need it, and not get to the stage where they are a risk to themselves or others.
“It feels like we are going down a slippery road where we are very reactive.
“But if families had early support and intervention the problems might not manifest into serious conditions and disorders.
“There is a significant worry for us as an organisation about what will happen.”
The Department of Health and Social Care said: “We recognise the impact the pandemic has had on everyone, especially children and young people who have faced disruption to their education.
“That’s why we have committed an extra £500million this year to support those most affected, including £79million to expand children’s mental health services.
“We are also expanding and transforming mental health services in England – backed by an extra £2.3billion a year by 2024 – to allow hundreds of thousands more children to access support.”
For help, go to youngminds.org.uk
or call 020 7089 5050 Parents’ helpine: 0808 802 5544
Samaritans: 116 123