The more that is invested in mental health services for young adults and teenagers - tackling the problem at an early stage, the better it is for a country's economy and mental health in general, according to an article in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Professor Patrick McGorry, Professor of Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, and team say that in order to bridge the gap between pediatric and adult mental health services, the service must be improved and expanded (In a Journal supplement, Early Intervention in Youth Mental Health).

Prof McGorry points out that about 25% of Australia's young people are most probably suffering from a mental health problem. In order to lower the economic and social burden that result from not treating youth mental illness it is crucial that early intervention take place - however, age-appropriate services are not easy to find.

Prof McGorry added "Services for young people tend to be threadbare and split across multiple levels of Government, multiple program areas, and myriad cash-strapped service providers. Just when mental health services are most needed by young people and their families, they are often inaccessible. Numerous young people with distressing and disabling mental health difficulties struggle to find age-appropriate assistance. Without access to appropriate treatment, many young people present in repeated crisis to overstretched hospital emergency departments, or their parents and carers are left to pick up the pieces. For many of these young people, if they survive, their difficulties eventually become chronic and disabling."

Four key areas of service are proposed by Prof McGorry to manage youth mental illness:

-- Community capacity to deal with youth mental health problems must be improved
-- Primary care services, including school counselors
-- Improve GP-provided primary care services in collaboration with other health workers
-- Mental health services with specialists in youth mental health

"As part of the current and overdue wave of reform in youth mental health some of these strategies are being actively developed. The most important initiative is the establishment of Headspace: the national youth mental health initiative. This is a $54 million program of service reform funded by the Federal Government and it represents the initial stage of investment and reform which should result in young people, no matter where they live in Australia, being able to freely and comfortably access high quality care for emerging mental and substance use disorders. Substantially increased investment on a more widespread and recurrent basis will be required by the next Federal Government if this is to be achieved. However, growth and reform at the State-funded specialist mental health service level to mirror this community-based investment in youth mental health is a vital parallel process," Prof McGorry wrote.

"Investing in youth mental health is a best buy"
Patrick D McGorry, Rosemary Purcell, Ian B Hickie and Anthony F Jorm
MJA 2007; 187 (7 Suppl): S5-S7
Click here to view article online