Reaching out: looking at mental health support for young people in Somerset
Download (PDF 3.21 MB)Summary of report content
Healthwatch Somerset wanted to understand whether children's and young people's mental health services are known to the target group and how effective they thought the promotion and delivery of the services were. They co-designed a survey with young people to which 85 people responded.
- 80% (49/60) of young people felt they needed support with their feelings in the past 12 months.
- 47% (21/45) of young people who felt they needed support did not ask or look for it.
- 11% (9/83) of respondents had not heard of any of the Somerset services offering direct support.
- Young Somerset was the most contacted Somerset support service.
- Schools are a crucial source of information and signposting for both young people and adults.
- Many comments indicated a lack or limited knowledge of available support in Somerset.
The report contains six recommendations.