Childline annual review 2015-16

"Mental health and wellbeing issues continue to be the main reason why children and young people contact us, with one in three counselling sessions about this topic. Most worryingly, we’re seeing increases in the most serious mental health problems. This year we provided over 19,000 counselling sessions with young people who were thinking about or planning suicide" 

"At the same time, we’ve seen an 87 per cent increase in the number of counselling sessions where children and young people talked to us about struggling to access appropriate professional support locally especially for mental health problems, some of which were linked to their experiences of abuse. This follows an increase of 124 per cent in the previous year."

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/services-and-resources/research-and-resources/2016/childline-annual-review-2015-16-turned-out-someone-did-care/

Teaching children about how their brains effect them emotionally -

"Sometimes our brains can become overwhelmed with feelings of fear, sadness or anger, and when this happens, it’s confusing—especially to children. So giving children ways to make sense of what’s happening in their brain is important. It’s also helpful for children to have a vocabulary for their emotional experiences that others can understand. Think of it like a foreign language, and if the other people in your family speak that language too, then it’s easier to communicate with them."

http://www.mindful.org/how-to-teach-your-kids-about-the-brain/

Rise in number of children seeking mental health support By Adam Offord | 24 August 2016

"In the three months between 1 April and 30 June this year there were 909 new referrals for people aged under 19 with eating disorder issues.This is a rise of 48.3 per cent on the 613 referrals recorded in the three months between January and March. Marc Bush, chief policy adviser atYoungMinds, said it is unclear whether the rise suggests progress on increasing access to child and adolescent mental health services or a failure to prevent needs from escalating." 

http://www.cypnow.co.uk/cyp/news/2000607/rise-in-number-of-children-seeking-mental-health-support?platform=hootsuite

Exam stress

"The NSPCC reports that the number of young people receiving counselling from Childline about their A-Level and GCSE results rose 20% this year, with 1 in 4 of all sessions being delivered in August. Childline’s advice about coping with exam results is highlighted."

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/fighting-for-childhood/news-opinion/20-rise-young-people-worried-exam-results/

Progress in child and adolescent mental health

"The Education Policy Institute has published a report on the progress made since the publication of Future in mind, the government’s strategy to transform mental health care for children and young people in England. Six key barriers to the effective delivery of Future in mind have been identified: workforce (both recruitment difficulties and training needs); funding; commissioning; data; fragmentation (the complexity and gaps between services); intervening too late." 

http://epi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/progress-and-challenges.pdf

"Prescription drug abuse tied to increased risk of teen suicide"

(Reuters Health) - Suicide is a leading cause of death for teens worldwide, and the odds of suicide attempts may be higher when adolescents abuse prescription drugs, a Chinese study suggests.

http://uk.mobile.reuters.com/article/idUKKCN10Q1T1

'Schools are being asked to address the mental health of young people without the support they need'

"The DfE's former mental health champion worries that when ministers say they're focusing on the wellbeing of young people, what they mean is they're going to get schools to do it"

https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-views/schools-are-being-asked-address-mental-health-young-people-without