Naturally parents would be extremely stressed if they realised that their adolescent child was self-harming and/or troubled by suicidal thoughts especially if they had actually made suicide attempts.

In the UK, the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) produced Guideline CR192 to focus on the clinical management of antenatal and postnatal mental health.

The focus of this document is the wide range of mental illnesses such as depression, psychosis, anxiety, eating disorders, drug and alcohol use disorders.

2.9 in 100 girls in the UK between the ages of 15 and 19 years give birth which is high compared to other countries 0,9 per 100 in France, 1.1 per 100 in Germany and 0.4 per 100 in Japan. In the UK there are 48000 babies born each year to teenage mothers.

Happy New Year for 2015!

3% of all young people from the teenage years to young adulthood experience severe depression but only a quarter of individuals receive any kind of treatment. In my NHS practice in the UK I have been able to assess young people promptly when they have been referred in by their GP but there has been too much of a delay in enabling them to access cognitive behaviour therapy with one of our therapists.