They found that helping young people to improve their emotion-regulation skills, which are needed to control emotional responses to difficult situations, enables them to cope better with anxiety and depression7. But their modest efficacy and substantial side effects3 have spurred the study of alternative physiological mechanisms that could be involved in youth depression and anxiety, so that new therapeutics can be developed. This week’s collection of review articles dives deep into the state of knowledge of interventions — those that work and those that don’t — for preventing and treating anxiety and depression in young people aged 14–24. Anxiety and depression constitute more than 40% of mental-health disorders among young people (those aged 10–19). The lesson also supports schools in meeting the updated statutory RSHE requirement for pupils to learn “about safe and unsafe exposure to the sun, and how to reduce the risk of sun damage, including skin cancer”.
From fragmented efforts to holistic impact
1 in 4 people will experience a mental illness in their lifetime. The Five ways to wellbeing are simple steps we can take to help us feel more positive and able to get the most out of life. To find out more about this and other related training, visit our ‘mental wellbeing and suicide prevention training’ web page This is training that helps to build knowledge and skills, and the confidence to use those to have mental wellbeing conversations. Download posters and leaflets to use in your schools. Young people can access advice & information, as well as ongoing support if needed.
What’s the theme for Children’s Mental Health Week 2026?
- Protecting adolescents from adversity, promoting socio-emotional learning and psychological well-being, and ensuring access to mental health care are critical for their health and well-being during adolescence and adulthood.
- It is important to consider the specific activities that children and teens engage in on social media, and to support them in using social media in ways that strengthen their social, emotional, cognitive and identity development.
- Keep up to date with our latest work including political campaigns, lived experience stories, ways you can get involved and much more.
- Based on about 1,300 responses, the survey found that 35% of teens use at least one of five social media platforms more than several times a day.
- In a world where teens are already misunderstood, the pandemic actually seemed to be making all the existing struggles that young people face today worse, including loneliness, anxiety and depression.
“The causes of the rise in mental health problems are complex and I’m not sure we fully understand them.” In his book The Anxious Generation, he suggests that this affects self-esteem and personal connections, which are crucial to good mental health. “There has always been unrealistic images… but social media has complicated things further,” she adds.
Transforming mental health for young people
Schools should implement mental health programs that include early identification and intervention services, as these can significantly improve student outcomes and address mental health challenges (261). Evidence suggests these programs can enhance social and emotional skills and lower the risk of behavioural disorders, substance use, and criminal offending (259, 260). Youth mentoring programs, where an adult mentor provides social support and engages in shared activities without offering psychotherapeutic interventions, have been used to reduce the risk of behavioural disorders among young people (259). Improving mental health outcomes requires a multifaceted approach that includes prevention, early intervention, and continuing care. Using advanced statistical software to construct SEM models that include multiple variables and pathways can provide a detailed understanding of how different factors interact to affect mental health (234). How these variables interact, and their cumulative effects on mental health require exploration in addition to identifying protective factors.
Jane Graham has been a school nurse for nearly 20 years – and during this time the nature https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/in-crisis/article/How-can-schools-provide-mental-health-services-17072714.php of her work has completely changed. In 2020, health information systems in nearly half of low-income countries did not have capacity to disaggregate mental health data by age. To make this happen, it is critical that system strengthening is supported by strong leadership and governance, solid coordination across sectors, sufficient financing, a skilled and diverse workforce, and robust health information systems. In Viet Nam, for example, the government formally has initiated a process to create psychosocial counselling positions in all primary and secondary education schools. Every dollar invested in adolescent mental health yields an estimated US$24 return over 80 years. Through partnerships with youth-led and youth-serving organizations, including the Major Group on Children and Youth, the consultations gathered perspectives from thousands of young people across all regions, ensuring that the Report reflects lived realities and youth-informed policy priorities.
