What young voices told us about mental health
Over the summer of 2016, we engaged with 114 young people aged 12-23, via workshops and surveys, to find out about their experiences of mental health education and information, access to services, and where they prefer to go for support.
Here's a few things we found:
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The majority of young people interpreted the term 'mental health' negatively, but agreed it was just as important as physical health
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More disagreed (37%) than agreed (28%) with the statement ‘It is easy for young people to get information and advice about mental health’.
- The majority of participants also disagreed that their school had provided good education on mental health
- A good number said they would talk to someone close to them, a professional or voluntary organisation if someone close to them had a problem with their mental health, but some said that they would not talk to anyone or would not know what to do.
- 61% agreed that they would be able to talk to their friends about ther mental wellbeing and 53% to their parents
- Only a third of participants agreed, and over a half disagreed, that they would be able to talk to their GP about their mental health.
We asked the young people themselves what advice they would give to commissioners and providers when they consider how best to support young people around mental health, in terms of education in schools, health professionals, preventing people from being embarrassed to seek help, and sexual health services in general.
