Author: The Centre for Social Justice
A new approach to mental health
Executive summary
Is the mental health of the nation the worst that it has ever been, or is there something else going on? Our GPs certainly do not think the current approach is the right one.
CSJ polling reveals that 83 per cent are concerned that antidepressants are prescribed when non-pharmaceutical interventions would be more suitable, and 84 per cent agree that society’s approach to mental health has led to the normal ups and downs of life being seen as medical problems.¹
The statistics paint a bleak picture. One in five (20 per cent) people report having received at least one diagnosis of a mental health condition,² and there has been a 70 per cent rise in the number of people in contact with mental health services in England over the last eight years, now at nearly two million.³ Almost a fifth of adults in England are now taking antidepressants.⁴
The rise in diagnosis for children and young people is particularly acute. Currently, a fifth of children aged 8 to 16 have a probable mental health disorder, up from 12.5 per cent in 2017.⁵ CSJ analysis has forecasted that this could reach one quarter of all children by 2030, if trends persist.⁶
The impact is being seen far and wide; mental ill-health has become a leading driver of economic inactivity and has contributed to the surge in school absence, the strain on NHS services, and has become a burden on productivity.
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