OPINION: Paying the price for poor mental health- the cost to children and young people by Derry MLA

The unprecedented nature of the last few years and its impact will take years to recover from, not least for our children, who were thrust into an age of anxiety when even the adults in their lives hadn’t the answers. Children and young people were torn away from their normal routine and unable to socialise with their wider family or peers. Being subjected to crisis at such a young age will prove difficult to recover from. Frighteningly, one in eight children and young people in the North struggle with mood and anxiety disorders. Since 2020 Emergency Departments have witnessed a 24% increase in the number of children, some as young as five years old, presenting during a mental health crisis. That alone should serve as a clarion call for all policy makers.

We had the solution in our grasp, one that was making a tangible difference in the lives of children- the Happy Healthy Minds School Counselling Support Programme. Rather than expand that successful pilot, the Department of Education scrapped it. The success of talking therapies delivered by local organisation such as North West Counselling as part of this programme, was clear to see. Everyone saw the value of this initiative, the children, their families and their schools.

Not only that but there has been overwhelming and unanimous support for the project from teaching staff and school principals.

The power of such programmes have a ripple effect, spreading out into the community. Happy Healthy Minds, as an early intervention initiative was key in equipping children with essential skills to understand and recognise their emotions, to build resilience required to deal with the hardships life inevitably brings. It also helps prevent escalating numbers of children and young people reaching crisis point, alleviating pressures on other services.

Children were able to learn skills that will set them up for life. When we talk about physical disease, we speak in terms of early detection to improve the chances of effective treatment and limit the damage caused to our bodies. The same concept applies to our minds and mental wellbeing. Teaching children about mental health resilience doesn’t just help mould well-rounded adults but it further erodes the stigma and attitudes associated with mental illness. Dragging oneself from the darkest depths of mental illness requires support- from family, friends, health services or the wider community. A safe school environment which provides early mental health support will create a more considerate, resilient society.

It’s critical that the Happy Healthy Minds Programme is reinstated- I’ve appealed to both the Permanent Secretaries of Health and Education to work together to restore this initiative for both primary and secondary school children, with particular focus on eradicating the barriers faced by neuro-diverse pupils. This needs to be a permanent fixture within our schools. The cost of not securing this type of support doesn't bear thinking about. The DUP need to end their boycott of our institutions, to allow MLAs to get back to work and prevent NI’s mental health crisis becoming a Pandora’s Box that cannot be curtailed.

*Foyle SDLP MLA Mark H Durkan wrote this opinion piece on World Mental Health Day, on Tuesday of this week, October 10.