We鈥檙e urging the Government to go further and faster to address the shocking rise of young people struggling with their mental health.

Figures from the showed that one in four young people aged between 16 to 24 years old has a mental health condition - up from 18.9% in 2014 to 25.8% in 2024.

A fifth of adults have a mental health condition

The survey also found that more than a fifth (22.6%) of adults aged 16 to 64 has a common mental health condition, up from 18.9% in 2014.

The data also showed increases in rates of self-harm and suicidal thoughts among adults.

We鈥檙e calling on the Government to take actions that will have a lasting difference on the mental health of the nation 鈥� addressing key factors that can impact mental health, inequalities in mental health and improving access to support, such as counselling and psychotherapy.

Services close to breaking point

Our Head of Policy and Public Affairs Martin Bell said: 鈥淭hese figures are extremely concerning and show the huge scale of need facing a system that is close to breaking point.

鈥湴卤疴�檝别 already seen the Government making some announcements about NHS mental health services, that are a step in the right direction. We鈥檙e pleased the Government is on track to deliver commitments to reduce waiting times and enable more people to get more accessible support, including in education, neighbourhood and community settings.

鈥淭he 10-year health plan which will be announced this week is an opportunity for the Government to take bold action on the nation鈥檚 mental health.鈥�

The Government has already announced it has recruited nearly 7,000 mental health professionals 鈥� close to their target of 8,500 by the end of this Parliament.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has also announced the launch of a free NHS App that will enable people to self-refer for talking therapies and that 85 new mental health emergency departments would be built across England.

More ambition is needed

Martin continued: 鈥淥ur members have a central role to play in delivering these initiatives. Currently too many people are falling through the cracks when they need support from trained therapists. We need more ambition from the Government to unlock this expertise.鈥�

However, Martin says we should be cautious about using AI driven virtual support as first port of call via the NHS App.

鈥淎lthough AI has many roles to play in improving access to mental health support and helping some people manage their wellbeing, it鈥檚 no substitute for in-person care from a trained therapist.

鈥淭here are additional ethical questions about AI use in therapy that need to be answered and addressed.鈥疶here are also many questions about how AI can accurately read and respond to human emotions.鈥�