A new report that highlights a so-called overdiagnosis of children鈥檚 mental health issues and refers to this as 鈥榰ndercutting grit and resilience鈥� is peddling a tired and misleading narrative.

MP and former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt鈥檚 foreword to says that over the past few years he has 鈥渨itnessed an alarming escalation in the prevalence and severity of mental ill-health among children and young people.鈥�

He adds: 鈥淎s a society, we seem to have lost sight of the fundamental reality that child development is a messy and uneven process. Our laudable desire to ensure young people are happy and well-supported is at times manifesting in excessive impulses to medicalise and diagnose the routine, in a manner that can undercut grit and resilience.鈥�

Other comments within the report echo this sentiment.

This is another example of shifting the focus on to diagnosis and resilience, following Bridget Phillipson and Wes Streeting鈥檚 comments earlier this year, rather than providing actions to ensure all children can access the support they need, when they need it.

The report mentions Labour and Conservative pledges to put mental health professionals in every school. But it fails to mention how these empty promises have fallen short in reality; how mental health support teams will leave 730,000 children a year falling through a gap, and how funding for Young Futures Hubs is far less than initially pledged.

It also talks about how the Government has recently announced that it seeks to crack down on what it has described as an 鈥榰nregulated private sector鈥� in counselling. In fact, the most recent comments from Government are that there are no plans to statutorily regulate counselling.

Children are resilient 鈥� but they鈥檙e living in a complicated world of fast-moving challenges and conflict. They鈥檙e having to cope with the consequences of the COVID pandemic, cost-of-living crisis, the increasing prevalence of AI, and school, family and relationship pressures.

Our 2024 Mindometer survey found that almost two thirds (64%) of therapists working with children under the age of 18 reported that children's mental health has deteriorated compared to last year.

More than two thirds (69%) of therapists who work with children said that they鈥檙e seeing an increase in children coming to therapy who have been waiting more than a year for access to support elsewhere.

We agree that childhood is 鈥榤essy and uneven鈥� 鈥� but for some children that stretches beyond what鈥檚 acceptable for them to deal with alone or with their families. It's not always about mental health, medical language - or about diagnoses.

Access to a trained professional counsellor offers children and young people a safe space to set their own goals, ultimately helping them understand and cope with what they鈥檙e going through at a time and place that best suits them.

It can change children鈥檚 lives and have a long-lasting impact on them 鈥� the earlier the help, the better the outcome.

These children shouldn鈥檛 be dismissed through this 鈥榦ver-diagnosis鈥� narrative, they shouldn鈥檛 be left to rot on a waiting list for months and months, they shouldn鈥檛 be falling through an ever widening gap in support.

What鈥檚 important is the Government and policy-makers address both the factors that negatively impact children鈥檚 mental health 鈥� and ensure those who are struggling have access to professional, qualified mental health support 鈥� such as counsellors and psychotherapists.