Published today, Centre for Mental Health’s Empowering Minds report, commissioned by the Pilgrim Trust, evaluates the first three years of our Young Women in Mind Programme which offers targeted and tailored mental health support for young women across northern England and Northern Ireland.
This report affirms that targeted, trauma informed mental health support for young women is both life changing and urgently needed. It demonstrates how projects which utilise an age appropriate and gender informed approach are providing vital support to young women and breaking down barriers they face in accessing the support they need. The report identifies key lessons from this gendered and age specific approach, as well as a model of what a good mental health service for young women looks like.
More than 30% of young women aged 17-25 have a mental health problem – the highest rate for any age group in England. Young women’s mental health has got dramatically worse over the last decade. Male violence, discrimination, financial pressures, and societal expectations have all put young women’s mental health at greater risk.
Over its first three years, our Young Women in Mind programme has supported more than 3,000 young women, with a £3m investment in a wide range of community-based projects.
Sonja Forbes, Programme Lead at the Pilgrim Trust said: “There is a clear crisis of young women’s mental health. We developed this programme to increase young women’s access to high quality services that meet their specific needs. Effective mental health support for young women must address the distinct experiences of young women that contribute to poor mental health. They often struggle with issues to do with sexual or domestic abuse, societal and cultural expectations, misogyny in schools, unrealistic beauty standards, caring responsibilities, motherhood, and so much more. Trauma-informed and age appropriate services delivered in safe, exclusive spaces are vital to break down barriers and ensure better outcomes for young women.”
The report concludes that embedding the key principles of Young Women in Mind in routine practice is critical to improving young women’s mental health and redressing the current imbalance.
The full report is available here: