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Understanding Children and Young People’s Mental Health

What might constitute a mental health ‘crisis’ or emergency

If the child or young person’s mental health or emotional state worsens suddenly and
rapidly, this will usually constitute an emergency. Sadly, sometimes an emergency is
the first recognition of the mental health problem.

In the case of young people, the crisis is often not due to the mental health problem
alone and relationships with parents, carers and peers as well as housing and money
issues can run alongside the presenting problem. This means that services affecting
the whole of the child’s life must work in an integrated way, collaborating and sharing
good practice to ensure the right help and support is provided and transitions between
services and different professionals are smooth and easy.

A crisis or emergency in mental health for children and young people is one in which
the individual is no longer able to cope and is talking or thinking about suicide and/or
self-harm of one kind or another.

A child may be in obvious and severe distress, or a young person may be experiencing
a psychotic episode as described above.

Some young people may become so distressed or disturbed that their detention
under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act may be warranted for their own safety
and protection. There are concerns expressed about provision for young people in
these circumstances, and the Department of Health report Future in Mind asks that:

‘CQC should be asked to carry out routine assessments of places of safety with
a focus on their age-appropriateness for children and young people.’

A crisis can also be brought on by an overdose of drugs or overuse of alcohol.
Confusion, delusions or hallucinations brought on by an underlying medical
condition or infection may create a crisis situation.

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