CHAPTER 3: CHAPTER 3: OPPORTUNITIES OPPORTUNITIESFOR FORCHANGE CHANGE
3.1 Opportunities for change 3.2 Understanding perspectives
3.1
Opportunities for change What are the barriers for young people accessing mental health care?
1.
There is a fragmentation of mental health services across a wide number of government and nongovernment services, both state-wide and national. They are not unified, and vary in the level of care and support they provide. Young people with emerging mental health concerns may not have accurate diagnoses and do not know which service can support them.
2. There is a high level of stigma associated with mental illness, amongst young people as well as parents and carers. They may feel that problems associated with growing up are just a phase and hesitate to seek help early. 3. There is a lack of in-person services that provide tailored information and face-to-face interaction. Online and telephone services can help in times of crisis, but fail to deliver on-going interaction required to build trust between young people and those who can help them. 4. Adolescents and young adults mature at various rates, but there is a lack of specific services to support transition from child to adult care. Adult mental health services may not take into account the needs of young people transitioning into adulthood. This includes continuing education, maintaining support from carers, or establishing independent living. Adolescence is a period in which mental health disorders can be compounded by the experiences of growing up, engaging in risk-taking behaviours, growing distrust for adults, peer pressure, and social media.
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