Youth mental health a concern

World Mental Health Day was held last week and Australian support groups have used the day to highlight growing concerns over youth mental health.

The theme of this year’s World Mental Health Day was ‘Make mental health and wellbeing a global priority’, but groups such as yourtown say young people are the most vulnerable group when it comes to mental health issues.

“The compounding challenges faced by children and young people affecting their mental health and wellbeing are unprecedented, and it’s never been more important to invest into their mental health and wellbeing,” yourtown CEO Tracy Adams said.

“Help seeking can take many forms, practical factors such as location, availability and immediacy of services available may affect access to mental health services.”

Kids Helpline, which is powered by yourtown, is Australia’s only free, confidential 24/7 support service that provides young people with counselling options and self-help tools.

One of the programs Kids Helpline offers, My Circle, has seen a 100 per cent increase in daily users over the past year, from 150 users per day last year, to 300 this year.

My Circle is moderated by a professional counsellor, supporting young people, and focuses on the two most common topics young people contact Kids Helpline about: emotional discord and mental wellbeing.

“This 100 per cent increase in demand is not surprising as online support services like My Circle have become an important source of early intervention for young people struggling with mental health concerns, whom research shows spend a lot of their time online and are the least likely to seek professional help when needed,” Ms Adams said.

“Young people are widely known to be the least likely to seek professional support, preferring to self-manage or approach informal support people for help. By working closely with young people to understand their help-seeking preferences, My Circle has been designed in a way that upholds standards of member safety, information accuracy, and purposeful interaction that allows young people to connect with others like them for informal support in a safer way online.”

For more information on the services yourtown provides, visit www.yourtown.com.au.