Are we getting mental health care right for children and young people?
The demand for children and young people’s mental health services has been steadily increasing in recent years.
The latest NHS statistics show that the number of people accessing these services has risen by almost a quarter (24%) between January 2023 and January 2026. In their Big Mental Health survey, Mind found that 62% of young people accessed mental health support through their GP and 34% had accessed mental health services provided by charities or other voluntary organisations.
A recently published interim report on an independent review into mental health conditions found increasing psychological distress among younger people. The same report noted that children and young people with probable emotional disorders are not receiving timely diagnosis or treatment, leading to worsening of their mental health, and suggesting that increasing demand is putting pressure on existing system weaknesses.
We reviewed our feedback on children and young people’s mental health services to explore how this translates into personal experience.
How do children and young people get mental health support?
Support for children and young people, typically up to the age of 18, but in some areas until 25, experiencing mental health issues is mostly provided by, or accessed through, the following:
- NHS children and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) - these are split into four tiers of support, depending on severity of need, including inpatient care for the most unwell young people
- NHS-funded services from local mental health organisations (e.g., charities, social enterprises, or other voluntary organisations)
- Mental health support teams in schools and colleges (MHSTs), the expansion of which is a key Government priority
- Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), legally binding documents that describe the support a child needs from schools, NHS services or social care services (and which may evolve to only apply to children with the most complex needs under future reforms).
Despite efforts from the NHS to adopt a joined-up approach between different health services or with other sectors, children’s and people’s mental health services remain siloed, often offering similar interventions. Rather than working together to create a cohesive support pathway, services sometimes operate independently, resulting in disorganised care.
What did we hear about navigating available support?
People who contacted us spoke about:
- being bounced between services (e.g. CAHMS and MHSTs)
- falling through gaps in services,
- difficulty navigating children and young people’s mental health support systems,
- and being turned away by CAHMS without being signposted to more appropriate services.
Healthwatch Cambridgeshire and Peterborough recently surveyed people aged 17–25, as well as some parents or carers of young people, about their experiences of local mental health services. There were more than 10 different services that respondents reported having used. This suggests a system that is difficult to navigate, with a myriad of support options and some overlap in support offered.
After surveying and interviewing young people, Healthwatch York also concluded that the system is confusing, compounded by inconsistent information across services. In contrast to the findings of Healthwatch Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, young people in York reported a lack of mental health services. However, this may be due to a lack of awareness (there are a number of mental health services available to children and young people in York). Indeed, one respondent noted that they did not know how to access mental health services.
“My experiences in the healthcare in York has been really good however mental health have difficult issues on where to start with it, I personally don’t know how to access proper forms of support or any help for that matter.” Story shared by Healthwatch York
This feedback paints a paradox: there are too many individual services, yet people are struggling to find support. There seems to be a lack of clarity on what support different services offer and a lack of signposting from the services themselves.
Delays to care
Young people or their families also told us they needed help more quickly than was offered. This is supported by the 2025 CQC mental health survey, which found that nearly one half (46%) of people waited three months or more for their first CAHMS treatment appointment and nearly the same (51%) said they did not receive the help they needed when in a mental health crisis.
“Still waiting for help, it's been about 3 years trying to get CAHMS to see my child who has since had a year out of school… The service is completely under resourced. We were in crisis, child wanted to die and run out across a busy road... We've had to get private help” Story shared by Healthwatch Cheshire East
Transitioning to adult mental health services
If mental health support is still needed as young people get older, they can move from CAHMS to adult mental health services. The NHS website explains that a key worker or GP should be appointed to young people transitioning to adult services, to help coordinate their care and transition. Additionally, young people should have a transition plan, which includes individual support needs and ongoing support providers.
Our feedback suggests that these things aren’t happening, leaving people unsupported during an already stressful period.
“I have not been transferred to, or had contact from services, after CAMHS.” Story shared by Healthwatch Warwickshire
In their respective reports, both Healthwatch Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and Healthwatch York reported on issues with the transition to adult mental health services.
Their findings align with those of the 2025 Care Quality Commission mental health survey, which suggested that a quarter (25%) out of all people surveyed by the CQC about their experience with CAHMS said they were not involved in a plan for their care or were not aware of one. Additionally, 45% had not had a care review meeting in the last 12 months.
What about the mental health care or support offered?
People who shared feedback with us overwhelmingly described negative experiences of the care and support they received from mental health services, particularly Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). We frequently heard about support and interventions that were unhelpful, inappropriate or ineffective.
One young person experiencing depression said they received weekly calls with a counsellor that lasted only five minutes. One 13-year-old experiencing suicidal thoughts was simply advised by the mental health crisis team to take up a sport.
“We've had three A and E visits over the years for my child's mental health. No CAHMS support available 'out of hours'. The supposed 'crisis team' totally useless. [They] came to see my child who was suicidal and asked if they had any hobbies and suggested maybe they should take up a sport. This was a child who at age 13 had been self-harming and trying to run into traffic to get hit by a car." Story shared by Healthwatch Warwickshire
Over half (55%) of the children and young people Healthwatch Warwickshire spoke to described their experiences with mental health services negatively, citing ineffective treatment and feeling as though they weren’t taken seriously. This was echoed by Healthwatch York’s research, where respondents said that CAHMS only offered generic advice.
Healthwatch Cambridgeshire and Peterborough found several factors that led to negative experiences, including not being listened to, and disorganised, unclear, and unhelpful care.
Another common issue with CAHMS we heard was a lack of appropriate support for neurodivergent people. The prevailing sentiment was that CAHMs were not equipped to fully understand the mental health needs of neurodivergent children and young people.
We heard from many people about dismissive and uninterested service staff, particularly from neurodivergent people. More than one-third (37%) of neurodivergent people who spoke with Healthwatch Warwickshire felt that their neurodivergence had affected their care.
“Extremely hard to get mental health support for autistic children. Many parents say this. They say there are no mental health therapies that work for them or that they are not trained in autism. This is extremely dangerous for children and families." Story shared by Healthwatch Barnet
How can children and young people’s mental health services be improved?
As well as addressing navigation and transitions through services and offering timelier care, services and commissioners need to listen to young peopple's and their families.
When Healthwatch York asked children and young people what would improve their mental health, they found that people wanted quick and easy access to services and more school-based support.
Healthwatch County Durham explored barriers to accessing mental health support for people aged 14-25. The number one reason preventing them from asking for help with their mental health was feeling uncomfortable talking to a stranger (27%). More generally, young people said that they didn’t want to feel judged when getting mental health support.
Some people told us they wanted their parents to be involved in their care, or were anxious about self-referring. Others did not want to parental involvement at all.
What is being done nationally to improve services for young people?
Any Government-led improvements to services are subject to various ongoing policy development, including:
- The final report, due out this year, of a Government-commissioned independent review into mental health conditions, ADHD and autism, which is looking at whether more people are affected by conditions or neurodiversity or are more aware of potential diagnoses, and whether services are meeting their needs and in the right way.
- The outcome of a joint inquiry by MPs on the Health and Social Care, and Education, select committees, into children and young people’s health, which will consider personal stories as well as how the Government is meeting its ambitions.
- The future development of a new Modern Service Framework for mental health, particularly adults experiencing severe illness – although it is not yet clear to what level this will discuss transition of young people into adult services.
Recommendations
- Young people and their families should receive better information about locally available NHS, school, care or voluntary services in their area. Joined-up working will be necessary to ensure this information is commonly understood by all services, so there is no wrong ‘front door’ when people first seek help, and they can be signposted elsewhere if the initial service isn’t right for them.
- Services need to be organised and delivered in a way that meets the needs of children and young people, which requires young people and families to be consulted on what works best for them.
- Staff should be trained to understand mental health issues in neurodivergent people and discuss support and interventions as a two-way process, to ensure it is person-centred, takes into account individual circumstances, drive engagement and lead to better outcomes.
- The Government and NHS England should clarify when or if it will set maximum waiting times for community mental health services – as first proposed five years ago.
