The number of young people seeking support for mental health problems has increased rapidly. There’s been a 30 percent rise between April 2021 and January 2024.

There’s debate about why: social media, the impact of Covid-19 lockdowns, the existential threat of climate change? But there’s no debate about the strain it’s putting on both young people and the charities that aim to support them.

Statutory services are at breaking point. Voluntary services are feeling the pressure. Bohdana Dock works for The Mix, a charity offering support to people under 25. ‘We’re seeing so many young people coming to us in crisis and talking about suicidal thinking, often saying they have nowhere else to go’ she says.

At NPC, we’ve been campaigning on this issue for over 15 years but believe the need for change is now urgent. Our new report ‘The youth mental health crisis’ outlines the scale of the problem, but also the ways that funders can help.

Our research focused on finding priority areas for funders to focus on. Of course, the entire system could use more support. But these are the areas where we believe there is the most leverage – where funders could have the biggest impacts with the least amount of money.

1. Preventative work and early intervention

The return on investment is three times higher for preventive care than specialist treatment. Interventions that support children’s social-emotional functioning or work to prevent Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are backed by the strongest evidence base.  

2. Supporting children from minoritised groups

Our research shows that some groups, including young women, children from ethnic minority communities, LGBTQ+ groups, and disabled children and young people, are more likely to experience mental health challenges. Providing tailored and appropriate support for these groups would help to reduce inequalities in access and care across the country.

On the digital side in particular, there is little to no focus on how these tools can be designed for and used by under-represented groups. Targeted funding to support the development of new technologies (or adaptation of existing tools) designed specifically for particular groups of young people could have a significant impact.

3. Building and diversifying the mental health workforce

Without more targeted funding to train and retain mental health professionals, the crisis will continue.

In particular, supporting the training of professionals in rural areas could also help to reduce patchy provision and have a lasting impact on young people’s access to mental health support in these regions.

With digital offers  likely to grow in response to increased demand, it’s critical to invest in building the digital skills and confidence of mental health practitioners.

4. Funding research on what works

There are currently many approaches to helping young people, but little understanding of what is best placed to scale up. Closing that gap will help.

In a bid to develop more innovative and effective solutions, research institutions, charities, and funders alike often spread their energy too thinly. We found an over-emphasis on innovation, often in order to satisfy funding requirements, and a neglect of rigorous testing, implementing, evaluating, and scaling ideas which already have potential.

Helping to scale an intervention that already has some evidence of effectiveness would be a fruitful avenue for funders to pursue.

5. Enabling collaboration across the mental health sector

Healthcare providers, businesses, and charities all told researchers they recognised the value of working together more.

Enabling effective communication between actors in the mental health ecosystem—including connecting larger and smaller organisations—and encouraging the sharing of good practice across the sector is important to avoid duplication of effort.

6. Exploring a systems-based approach to funding

Young people’s problems and concerns can’t be viewed in isolation from the systems and societies they live in. Mental health connects with all areas of government policy.

Most charities respond by developing simple linear interventions, and receive funding based on the promise of these solutions. There is undoubtedly a very real need for this work on a micro scale.

Yet there is also a need to zoom out and gain a better understanding of the multiple and dynamic causal factors that influence youth mental health. A pooled fund which supports service delivery work alongside policy, campaigning, and systems change work has the potential to drive real change, both in the short and long-term, in this space.

Conclusion

The current rise in demand simply isn’t sustainable. Government, charities, and funders to take more decisive action.

After 15 years of research, we want to play an active role in seeking a solution. We’re urging all funders to join us.

Hannah Large is a senior consultant at NPC