A seismic shift in demand for mental health services sees girls seeking help at nearly double the rate of boys as experts warn existing care models are running on outdated evidence, new research has revealed.
The number of young people accessing specialist mental health care in the UK has quadrupled in under two decades, with one in five now seeking help by the age of 18.
Research from the University of Edinburgh analysed health records from Wales — considered a reliable proxy for the entire UK — and found a consistent year-on-year rise in service use, with a sharp acceleration after 2010.
The study tracked children born between 1991 and 2005. Of those born in 1991, only 5.8 per cent attended Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) before turning 18. For those born in 2005, that figure rose to 20.2 per cent by the time they turned 18 in 2023, a jump from one in 17 to one in five.
“This study provides the clearest picture yet of the soaring demand for CAMHS,” said Ian Kelleher, study lead and Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Edinburgh. “There has been a seismic shift in the numbers coming to CAMHS, but there has been far too little research to understand why this is the case.”
A different story
Whilst recent public discourse has often blamed the Covid-19 pandemic for the surge in mental health issues, the data tells a different story. The acceleration in service use began over a decade ago, long before lockdowns were implemented.
“Contrary to a lot of public discourse, this is not a post-pandemic issue – this trend has been building consistently for over a decade,” said Kelleher.
The study, which analysed anonymised administrative health records from the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) databank, revealed a significant demographic shift.
In the early 2000s, boys and girls attended services in similar numbers. However, by 2022, there were nearly twice as many girls as boys accessing care. Adolescents were also far more likely than younger children to be in touch with CAMHS.
Experts warn that existing services may no longer meet the needs of today’s youth, noting that many treatment decisions are based on evidence that is decades old. The findings highlight the pressing need for more research into the factors driving the rising demand and an assessment of the real-world effectiveness of current interventions.
“Unlike oncology or cardiology services, there is far too little research and evaluation taking place in CAMHS,” said Kelleher. “Clinicians want to provide the best possible care but we need stronger modern evidence on which to base our treatment decisions. Robust clinical research programmes are not a luxury, they are the only way to ensure our systems and treatments are effective for today’s young people.”
