The prevalence of mental health disorders among children and young people aged between 10 to 25 and the full impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been outlined in a report published by the Department of Children.
The report has identified that the number of children using clinical psychology services in Ireland increased by more than 150 per cent between 2019 and 2020.
There has also been an increase in the proportion of 15 to 24-year-olds who attended a psychiatrist, psychologist or psychotherapist between 2015 and 2019, according to the report.
The snapshot data is included in the latest Spotlight report, the 10th in the series which gathers statistics highlighting trends or patterns in specific areas.
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Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman said issues including an increase in suicidal ideation among young people required more attention and action.
“The data on the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on young people’s mental health is also really valuable in helping us design public policy measures and services that address their needs in the aftermath of this unprecedented event,” the Minister said.
The number of children admitted to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) units increased by almost a third between 2017 and 2021, although the number of child admissions to adult mental health units decreased by almost two-thirds.
The percentage use of CAMHS “bed days” increased steadily from 2017 to 2021, and the number of referrals seen by mental health services increased by a fifth.
In its analysis of the pandemic, the Spotlight report noted both 12- and 22-year-olds felt they had missed out on mental health support services due to Covid-19 and its effects.
The most commonly reported difficulty at the time, for both 15 to 17-year-olds and 18 to 24-year-olds, related to missing the company of friends, followed by school or college problems and the effect of the public health emergency on physical and mental wellbeing.
Those most likely to mention mental health concerns at the time included those with disabilities and illnesses, users of mental health services, and young people in the LGBTI+ community.
Almost half of all 15 to 17-year-olds and 18 to 24-year-olds said their mental health had worsened since the beginning of Covid-19-related restrictions, with girls and women more likely to report a decline in their mental health.
Globally, anxiety and depressive disorders represented roughly half of all mental health problems among 10 to 24-year-olds during 2019 and almost two-thirds of disorders among the same age group in Ireland.
However, Dr Tony Bates, adjunct professor of psychology at University College Dublin and founder of the youth mental health organisation Jigsaw, said he was concerned about an increasing move toward labelling young people and not dealing with the root causes.
“What that [increase in demand for mental health services] says to me is that there is distress and there is need; it doesn’t say to me that there is mental illness, or more of it, it says they need support,” he said.
Dr Bates, who had not yet seen the Spotlight report but was commenting on the issue generally, said children were being pathologised much more than used to be the case, marking a shift toward diagnosis and medication.
“I think there is less support available to children and more expectations,” he said.
* The HSE advises mental health support services are available by calling the HSE YourMentalHealth Information Line on freephone 1800 111 888, any time day or night, or talk to your GP. The Jigsaw youth mental health support group can be reached at jigsaw.ie or by texting HELLO to 50808, a free 24/7 text service.
