Young people need greater involvement in transition to adult mental health services

A study by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) on mental health services found that young people, their family and carers want to actively participate in every aspect of their transition process.

Unsuccessful mental health transition impacts negatively on the young person but also affects parents and carers and can have implications for the whole family.

Another concern was a lack of consistency in eligibility for young people’s and adult mental health services. Adult mental health support was being denied to some young people because thresholds were too high.

Amanda Edwards, SCIE deputy chief executive, said: "A key recommendation within the research briefing is that young people must have consistent support and participate in the process at this important stage of transition in their lives. We do not want young people ceasing to use a mental health service only to see them return when crisis occurs."

Find out more about mental health service transitions for young people and the practice case studies available on the SCIE website.

Your rights to be heard guides
We have written four guides for children and young people living in England to help them understand their rights to be heard in different situations. These include Your right to be heard when in contact with health services and Your right to be heard when in contact with children's services.
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