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More research into children and young people’s mental health urgently needed, says RCPsych

Statement / comment
10 February 2025

A new study has found that a shortage of senior academic posts in child and adolescent psychiatry is threatening the development of mental health treatments for young people.

The paper, , shows there are only 24 senior academic posts (professorships) in child and adolescent psychiatry across all of the UK and Ireland.

Responding to the research, Dr Guy Northover, Vice Chair of the 免费黑料网’ Child and Adolescent Faculty, said:

“This study makes it clear that we urgently need more focus on research in child and adolescent psychiatry not just to understand the factors that have driven the recent rise in young people experiencing poor mental health but also to enable new innovations and treatments for these illnesses. This will also help to maintain our high standards of teaching and training.

"Whilst services need more resources immediately to enable the delivery of high quality, personalised care that helps many of their patients recover and lead more fulfilling lives, research into new treatments and innovations are also urgently needed to address the growing demand and complexity of young peoples presentations.

“Academic child psychiatrists play a key role in training the next generation of clinicians, including GPs and paediatricians. With many CAMHS services already having significant shortages of psychiatrists, it is imperative that there is the resource and ability to ensure all medial professionals understand their role in supporting child mental health and can treat both their physical and mental illnesses.

“It’s extremely disheartening to see research into physical health conditions is still heavily prioritised over mental illnesses when there are so many vulnerable young people in need of care.

“The Royal College of Psychiatrists supports calls for medical schools to invest in child and adolescent psychiatry and for policy reforms to boost academic research in this field.”

Young people's mental health information

We produce mental health information to support young people, as well as , which cover a range of topics from diagnosable conditions to everyday challenges young people deal with.

Written by psychiatrists in collaboration with young people, these are available for schools and college to order online.

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