What is a mental health problem?

There are many factors that contribute to mental health problems for young people and children. Typical statistics suggest that 1 in 10 of children and young people will require professional help at some time in their lives regarding their mental health before the age of 18.

Typically, mental health problems show themselves in two distinct age periods. First, for children aged from 5 to about 12 years and, second, for young people aged 12–18 years. Mental health problems for both groups affect the emotional, cognitive, educational and behavioural capacity of the patient. The most common mental health problems for children are those associated with inattentiveness and poor social behaviour such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), disruptive behaviour such as conduct disorders, and language and emotion type disorders such as Asperger’s syndrome.

For teenagers, mental health problems include depression, self-harm, anxiety disorders, social disorders focused on an inability to cope (including para-suicide), obsessive compulsive disorders (OCD), bipolar disorders, psychosis and eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa. Unlike adult psychiatry, young people often have complex or dual diagnosis, which means a combination of the above, on their path to achieving their key maturational milestones. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health is ‘a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully’. For young people and the family, mental health is not only the absence of mental health problems, but also the accomplishment of developmental milestones that impact and compound difficulties in this life stage.

Types of services

In the United Kingdon, children and young people come under the care of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). Every region has access to Tier 3 (community-based specialist teams) and Tier 4 (specialist adolescent inpatient facilities). Both of these tiers have multi-agency specialist professionals (including mental health nurses, social workers, occupational therapists, consultant psychiatrists, teachers, psychologists, family therapists, art therapists and other therapists) who assess, treat and follow up young people and families in their care.