‘Lucy’s always been a bit of a worrier, but two years ago she began to get anxious and started having panic attacks. “I didn’t know what was happening and my parents didn’t either,” says the 15-year-old. “It was scary. The attacks would occur without warning. It got worse and I began to have them in public.” Lucy started missing a lot of school and stopped socialising. She says it was hard for her parents to see her struggling. “We didn’t know what to do or where to go.”‘

Invariably, when someone gives Youth Concern a platform to speak about our work, there’s a queue of people wanting to talk to us afterwards about their child/family member/young colleague. Gone are the days of talking about ‘vulnerable’ young people. Audiences don’t consider the 13-25 year olds they care about ‘vulnerable’. According to the article, 22% boys aged 11-16, and 32% girls aged 17-19 have mental health problems.

Dr Elaine Lockhart, chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ child and adolescent faculty: “Lots of children struggle. The idea that the school years are the best years of your life is a fallacy.” See full article here.

But knowing where to go for help is not straightforward, with long waiting times for NHS child mental health services and many families not being able to afford private therapy.

So where should you turn? Probably your GP or the mental health support teams that are linked to schools in some areas. While NHS waiting lists might be long, they can refer to local organisations, like Youth Concern’s counselling service. Young people can of course refer themselves too. What’s essential is that the young person wants to engage. You can take a horse to water, but…

If you would like a copy of Youth Concern’s designed for those supporting a young person in counselling, you can download it here. Let’s spread the word and look after ourselves, as well as our young people.

Counselling information for young people’s families and friends