Improving emotional wellbeing for young people in 2016

Healthwatch Richmond and Healthwatch Kingston undertook research on young people's emotional wellbeing and mental health. They spoke to 1,580 young people from 51 schools across Richmond and Kingston, with over a third reporting that they had needed support for their emotional wellbeing. The research found that young people who accessed support they felt was helpful reported levels of wellbeing similar to those who had never needed support, while those who did not access support, or found it unhelpful, reported much poorer wellbeing.

The most common factors affecting emotional wellbeing were stress, exam pressure and pressure to succeed, followed by self-confidence, relationships, concerns about appearance, family problems and bullying. Emotional wellbeing generally worsened with age, particularly among 16-year-olds. Young women, transgender young people and those identifying as LGBT+ were more likely to report needing support and less likely to report that support had helped them. 

Young people highlighted major barriers to accessing support, including stigma, confidentiality concerns, not knowing where to go for help and feeling that their problems were not serious enough. Common criticisms of support services included long waiting times, difficulties accessing CAMHS, high referral thresholds and poor relationships with professionals. In contrast, young people valued support from trusted friends and family, counselling, online resources and professionals who listened, understood their concerns and treated them with compassion. 

The report recommended tackling stigma, improving awareness of available services, reducing CAMHS waiting times and thresholds, and designing services around young people's preferences for accessible, confidential and non-judgemental support. It also highlighted the important role of schools in promoting mental health, reducing academic pressure, increasing awareness of support services and creating environments where young people feel comfortable discussing their wellbeing.