Mental health services for under 18s

It can be an overwhelming experience for a parent when your child is experiencing difficulties with their mental health.

There are many supports available to you and your son or daughter, but knowing what mental health services there are how and how to access them isn’t always easy.

Below we’ve listed some of the mental health services for under 18s in Ireland, how to access them, and costs. The service or organisation you go to depends on what your child is going through is considered mild, or more severe in nature. The first step to knowing this is going to your GP.

Watch: Concerned about being left behind

When a group of friends head off in different directions after finishing school, it is easy to feel concerned about being left behind.

Jigsaw volunteers Sam, Nicola and Rachel, with Youth and Community worker Sinead, talk about how they feel about leaving their school friends as they head off on new adventures.

Watch: How to start a conversation

Eimear, Jigsaw volunteer, asks for advice about how to start a conversation in a new situation, for example when starting a new course.

Jigsaw works with many young people who go to a class, society meetings or football training and still feel lonely. This is because they find it really hard to talk to someone. So they’re going, but not connecting. That can be really hard and there’s not a simple fix.

When we’ve gone through difficult experiences like being bullied, or have had negative relationships, we can start to believe unhelpful things. We can start to believe “no one would want to speak to me” or “I’m not good enough for people to talk to”.