Child and Youth Mental Health

The concept of ‘One Good Adult’ is to emphasise the importance of a dependable adult who can support and protect the mental wellbeing of a child and/or a young person. The presence of One Good Adult has been found to be a key indicator of how well a young person copes with their struggles, and in one study, over 70% of young people repported they received a high level of support from a special adult (‘My World Survey’). This ‘One Good Adult’ can be a parent, grandparent, teacher, sports coach or someone who is available to them in times of need.

Helpful Resources

One Good Adult

• One Good Adult Job Description: The One Good Adult Job Description captures the ethos of a suite of learning resources that have been designed to upskill people who work (or volunteer) with children and young people.
• Healthy Minds – One Good Adult Session: The One Good Adult session (number 12) from our Healthy Minds Resource can help raise awareness of the concept and what is means to be that one good adult.

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Resilience

Resilience Toolkit: Contains a One Good Adult activity session for children and young people, to help them identify the qualities a one good adult should have and who theirs might be.

Schools play a key role in protecting and supporting the mental health of children and young people. A whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing can help children and young people develop the knowledge, understanding, skills and attributes they need for mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing for now and in the future. This means embedding mental health and wellbeing into all aspects of school life.

Helpful Resources

Many children and young people have links to their communities and opportunities to be involved in various youth groups and clubs. Youth services, voluntary and community organisations are in a very good position to support the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people, includin those who are most vulnerable. 

It is important that youth services, voluntary and community organisations have access to mental health resources and have a baseline knowledge and understanding of mental health and feel confident to intervene to help children and young people in situations of distress, including self harm and suicide. 

Helpful Resources

For children and young people mental health problems can develop as a result of life circumstances like exam stress, transitions, or caring responsibilities. Many of these mental health problems are mild and temporary and often manageable with help from supportive trusted adults. However, some children and young people may require support from an organisation who specialises in the area that is impacting on their mental health, such as bereavement.

It is important that children, families and young people have range of support options for early intervention and can be helped to find their way to appropriate help quickly.

Still concerned?

For some children and young people they may be finding it difficult to cope and may think of ending their life, if you are concerned about a child or young person’s mental health and wellbeing and feel they may be in distress, their Doctor should be their first point of contact. If you feel the young person’s life in immediate danger please call 999 for assistance.

Helpful Resources

Unfortunately, some children and young people can find it difficult to cope at times in their lives. As a result, they may harm themselves or think of ending their life. It is therefore important that frontline staff working with children and young people are confident and supported to intervene and help children and young people in situations of distress, including self-harm and risk of suicide.

The NHSGGC Self-Harm Forum is a group of trainers who have completed the What’s the Harm: Self-Harm Awareness and Skills Training Course. They play a key role in building capacity across the board area to help standardise understanding of and responses to self harm when used as a coping strategy. If you want to hear more about their work, please contact us at ggc.mhead@nhs.scot.

Helpful Resources

In 2024, those aged 18-24 spent over 6 hours each day online. Digital is now he medium by which most young people conduct their lives. It’s therefore no longer possible for us to support a child or young person’s mental health without thinking about the online environment. This includes being aware of the risks of the online environment and supporting children and young people to maximise the benefits of being online.

Helpful Resources

Further Reading

• “It’s not safe and consistent”: Read our report sharing the lived experiences of young people using social media who have experience of self-harm, including the potential risks and protective factors social media offers them.
• Social media, its use and impact on mental health, particularly self-harm and suicidality, among young people – A literature review that explores the evidence regarding social media use in young people (12-18) and its impact on mental health and wellbeing. It provides an update on the state of knowledge about social media usage and shares insights into its potential for both harm and good.