Fonagy Review Finds Real Rise in Youth Mental Distress — SkimNews
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- Prof Peter Fonagy, head of an independent review into mental health, ADHD and autism, told the BBC that accusations today's youth are a "snowflake generation" are wrong.
- Fonagy said there has been a real rise in mental distress among children and young people, with anxiety, depression, self-harm and eating disorders the most common issues.
- The review was ordered nine months ago by then-health secretary Wes Streeting after he claimed in an interview that young people were over-diagnosed and "written off."
- Catherine Burns of the BBC spoke to young mental health ambassadors who echoed the report's findings and called for an increase in mental health support.
Why it matters: A review commissioned after Streeting's "over-diagnosed" comments has now contradicted it — effectively rebuking a senior UK health official's framing and shifting the policy debate toward expanding, rather than restricting, mental health services for children and young people.
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