Adolescent mental health

Mental health concerns among young people are on the rise and many young people are living in difficulty. An estimated 75% of all mental health disorders are diagnosed by the age of 25 with those living in more deprived areas being more likely to experience mental health problems.  

Our partnership contains strong clinical and academic mental health expertise through the mental health trusts across our region and UCL, whose research power in psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience is recognised as the best in the UK. We are committed to working together to reduce the development and escalation of mental health problems in young people. 

To achieve this ambition, we are delivering a programme of work to effect change in three ways: 

• Addressing the most urgent need by developing rapid, targeted solutions in health pathways where delivery is most pressured, or mental health outcomes are poorest. Our aim will be to improve outcomes for young people, release system capacity, and provide tools for operationalising the THRIVE principles.  
• Activating community assets. We will address some of the social determinants of poor mental health by bringing together young people, the evidence (about ‘what works’), and system change-makers, using the Kailo framework. Using different listening methodologies will help to amplify the voices of young people in decision-making spaces, strengthening the system’s ability to deliver on CYP needs and thereby reduce health inequalities.  
• Accelerating the use of data and technology to improve our diagnostic and predictive capacity to identify need much earlier on. This will enable better targeting of support and reduce the overall burden of mental health harm. Our starting point is #BeeWell, a school-based census that can collect longitudinal data at school and enable change through collective action.