Delivering youth mental health services

Delivering youth mental health services

• Young people often struggle to access mental health services
• Targeted, youth-specific, early intervention mental health services like Jigsaw can lower the financial and human costs of adult mental health problems
• Jigsaw appears to be effective for young people who engage with the service
• Over 90% of young people who use Jigsaw agree that their mental health improved as a result of the support they received
• Young people report that Jigsaw helped them to enhance their understanding and awareness about mental health and develop coping skills to manage their emotions and negative thought patterns.
  
  

Adolescence and young adulthood is a critical time. It can influence whether young people experience enduring mental health difficulties in adulthood.

We know from the My World Survey that many young people in Ireland experience high levels of psychological distress.

Despite this, access to, and use of, mental health services by young people in Ireland is poor. Many services have long waiting lists. A lack of focus on early intervention or inadequate resources to support young people is also prohibitive.

Currently the division between youth and adult mental health services is at 18 years-old. This can be disruptive for young people receiving care as they move from being a teenager to young adult.

Early intervention

Jigsaw is an early intervention, primary care service that offers supports to young experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties. The services provided by Jigsaw are based on the best available evidence on what works to support youth mental health.

The onset of mental health problems peaks during adolescence and young adulthood, and this a crucial stage for a young persons’ social and emotional development.

An early intervention mental health service supports young people to help prevent more severe mental health difficulties in the future by, for example, teaching positive ways to cope with difficulties.

Jigsaw's primary care model

Jigsaw is one example of a youth mental health service in the Republic of Ireland that uses a primary care model of care to provide support to young people aged 12 to 25. We provide support to those experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties.

Anxiety and low mood are the most common issues young people seek support for at Jigsaw. However, there are some gender differences in the issues that young people present with.

Males are more likely to present with anger issues and drug use. While females are more likely to present with anxiety, feelings of sadness/loss, thoughts of hurting self and low self-esteem.

Typically, mental health services find that females are more likely to seek help for mental health problems than males. But we find that Jigsaw appears to be equally accessible to both males and females

Reduced distress

Young people seeking help from Jigsaw are often experiencing high levels of psychological distress. After engaging with Jigsaw, most young people report clinically significant reductions in psychological distress. Young people also report making reliable progress towards their goals after coming to Jigsaw.

Surveys of young people who have used the service show over 99% felt that they were listened to by Jigsaw staff and that they were listened to by Jigsaw staff and that their worries were taken seriously. 95% agree that the support they received helped them deal with their problems. 97% would recommend Jigsaw to a friend if they needed help.

Parents and caregivers surveyed also show high levels of satisfaction with the service. 97% report that the young person in their care improved as a result of coming to Jigsaw.

This demonstrates a need to offer early intervention supports to young people and the impact of services like Jigsaw. Using services like Jigsaw can help young people navigate through a challenging period of development.