Designing youth mental health services for the 21st century: examples from Australia, Ireland and the UK
Open accessAbstract
Summary: Despite the evidence showing that young people aged 12-25 years have the highest incidence and prevalence of mental illness across the lifespan, and bear a disproportionate share of the burden of disease associated with mental disorder, their access to mental health services is the poorest of all age groups. A major factor contributing to this poor access is the current design of our mental healthcare system, which is manifestly inadequate for the unique developmental and cultural needs of our young people, if we are to reduce the impact of mental disorder on this most vulnerable population group, transformational change and service redesign is necessary. Here, we present three recent and rapidly evolving service structures from Australia, Ireland and the UK that have each worked within their respective healthcare contexts to reorient existing services to provide youth-specific, evidence-based mental healthcare that is both accessible and acceptable to young people.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Untreated mental illness in young adults is strongly associated with mental illness in adulthood.
“is strongly associated with mental illness in adulthood (McGorry et al. 2013;Wolitzky-Taylor et al. 2017).”
From Clinical and functional characteristics of young adults living in single room occupancy housing: preliminary findings from a 10-year longitudinal study (2018) · cites this paper as McGorry et al. 2013
When practitioners are trained to ask sensitively and safely about abuse and have clear referral pathways, clinical encounters can be opportunities for identification and referral for help, contributing to prevention of depression.
“When practitioners are trained to ask sensitively and safely about abuse and have clear referral pathways, clinical encounters can be opportunities for identification and referral for help, contributing to prevention of depression. This is demonstrated in a cluster trial in primary care 461 and suggested by a pilot study in secondary mental health care. 459”
From Time for united action on depression: a Lancet–World Psychiatric Association Commission (2022) · cites this paper as [461]
Reforming youth mental health services toward integration and collaboration between different healthcare professionals has gained increasing interest over the last decade.
“Over the last decade, reforming youth mental health services in the perspective of integration and collaboration between different healthcare professionals has gained increasing interest [127].”
From Prevention and early intervention in youth mental health: is it time for a multidisciplinary and trans-diagnostic model for care? (2020) · cites this paper as [127]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Kessler, R. C., Berglund, P., Demler, O., Jin, R., Merikangas, K. R., & Walters, E. E. (2005) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.62.6.593 · Cited by 20,391 · see citing works
Adult mental health disorders and their age at onset
Jones, P. B. (2013) · British Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.112.119164 · Cited by 701 · see citing works
McGorry, P. D., Purcell, R., Goldstone, S., & Amminger, G. P. (2011) · Current Opinion in Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/yco.0b013e3283477a09 · Cited by 490 · see citing works
Self-citationheadspace: Australia's National Youth Mental Health Foundation — where young minds come first
McGorry, P. D., Tanti, C., Stokes, R., Hickie, I. B., Carnell, K., Littlefield, L. K., & Moran, J. (2007) · Medical Journal of Australia · doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2007.tb01342.x · Cited by 272 · see citing works
Self-citationBurden of psychiatric disorder in young adulthood and life outcomes at age 30
Gibb, S. J., Fergusson, D. M., & Horwood, L. J. (2010) · British Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.109.076570 · Cited by 240 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 11
- Kessler RC, Avenevoli S, Costello EJ, Georgiades K, Green JG, Gruber MJ, et al. Prevalence, persistence, and sociodemographic correlates of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication Adolescent Supplement. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2012; 69: 372-80.
- Arnett JJ. Emerging Adulthood: The Winding Road from the Late Teens Through the Twenties. Oxford University Press, 2004.
- Singh SP, Paul M, Ford T, Kramer T, Weaver T, McLaren S, et al. Process, outcome and experience of transition from child to adult mental healthcare: multiperspective study. Br J Psychiatry 2010; 197: 305-12.
- Scott EM, Hermens DF, Glozier N, Naismith SL, Guastella AJ, Hickie IB. Targeted primary care-based mental health services for young Australians. Med J Aust 2012; 196: 136-40.
- Purcell R, Goldstone S, Moran J, Albiston D, Edwards J, Pennell K, et al. Towards a 21st century approach to youth mental health care: some Australian initiatives. Int J Ment Health 2011; 40: 72-88.
- McGorry PD, Edwards J, Mihalopoulos C, Harrigan SM, Jackson HJ. EPPIC: an evolving system of early detection and optimal management. Schizophr Bull 1996; 22: 305-26.
- Lynch F, Mills C, Daly I, Fitzpatrick C. Challenging times: a study to detect Irish adolescents at risk of psychiatric disorders and suicidal ideation. J Adolesc 2004; 27: 441-51.
- Lynch F, Mills C, Daly I, Fitzpatrick C. Challenging times: prevalence of psychiatric disorders and suicidal behaviours in Irish adolescents. J Adolesc 2006; 29: 555-73.
- Joseph R, Birchwood M. The national policy reforms for mental health services and the story of early intervention services in the United Kingdom. J Psychiatry Neurosci 2005; 30: 362-5.
- Lester H, Birchwood M, Bryan S, England E, Rogers H, Sirvastava N. Development and implementation of early intervention services for young people with psychosis: case study. Br J Psychiatry 2009; 194: 446-50.
- McGorry P, Johanessen JO, Lewis S, Birchwood M, Malla A, Nordentoft M, et al. Early intervention in psychosis: keeping faith with evidence-based health care. Psychol Med 2010; 40: 399-404.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Our future: a Lancet commission on adolescent health and wellbeing
Patton, G. C., Sawyer, S. M., Santelli, J. S., Ross, D. A., Afifi, R., Allen, N. B., Arora, M., Azzopardi, P., Baldwin, W., Bonell, C., et al. (2016) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(16)00579-1 · Cited by 3,785 · see citing works
Time for united action on depression: a Lancet–World Psychiatric Association Commission
Herrman, H., Patel, V., Kieling, C., Berk, M., Buchweitz, C., Cuijpers, P., Furukawa, T. A., Kessler, R. C., Kohrt, B. A., Maj, M., et al. (2022) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(21)02141-3 · Cited by 1,104 · see citing works
Self-citationColizzi, M., Lasalvia, A., & Ruggeri, M. (2020) · International Journal of Mental Health Systems · doi:10.1186/s13033-020-00356-9 · Cited by 727 · see citing works
Designing and scaling up integrated youth mental health care
McGorry, P. D., Mei, C., Chanen, A., Hodges, C., Alvarez‐Jimenez, M., & Killackey, E. (2022) · World Psychiatry · doi:10.1002/wps.20938 · Cited by 546 · see citing works
Self-citationAltering the course of schizophrenia: progress and perspectives
Millan, M. J., Andrieux, A., Bartzokis, G., Cadenhead, K., Dazzan, P., Fusar-Poli, P., Gallinat, J., Giedd, J., Grayson, D. R., Heinrichs, M., et al. (2016) · Nature Reviews Drug Discovery · doi:10.1038/nrd.2016.28 · Cited by 516 · see citing works
Self-citationEarly intervention in youth mental health: progress and future directions
McGorry, P. D., & Mei, C. (2018) · Evidence Based Mental Health · doi:10.1136/ebmental-2018-300060 · Cited by 391 · see citing works
Self-citation‘Something needs to change’: Mental health experiences of young autistic adults in England
Crane, L., Adams, F., Harper, G., Welch, J., & Pellicano, E. (2019) · Autism · doi:10.1177/1362361318757048 · Cited by 397 · see citing works
Integrated (one‐stop shop) youth health care: best available evidence and future directions
Hetrick, S. E., Bailey, A. P., Smith, K. E., Malla, A., Mathias, S., Singh, S. P., O'Reilly, A., Verma, S. K., Benoit, L., Fleming, T. M., et al. (2017) · Medical Journal of Australia · doi:10.5694/mja17.00694 · Cited by 288 · see citing works
Self-citationAustralia’s Innovation in Youth Mental Health Care: The Headspace Centre Model
Rickwood, D., Paraskakis, M., Quin, D., Hobbs, N., Ryall, V., Trethowan, J., & McGorry, P. (2019) · Early Intervention in Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/eip.12740 · Cited by 237 · see citing works
Self-citationCultures for mental health care of young people: an Australian blueprint for reform
McGorry, P. D., Goldstone, S. D., Parker, A. G., Rickwood, D. J., & Hickie, I. B. (2014) · The Lancet Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(14)00082-0 · Cited by 221 · see citing works
Self-citationHickie, I. B., Scott, E. M., Cross, S. P., Iorfino, F., Davenport, T. A., Guastella, A. J., Naismith, S. L., Carpenter, J. S., Rohleder, C., Crouse, J. J., et al. (2019) · Medical Journal of Australia · doi:10.5694/mja2.50383 · Cited by 208 · see citing works
Iorfino, F., Scott, E. M., Carpenter, J. S., Cross, S. P., Hermens, D. F., Killedar, M., Nichles, A., Zmicerevska, N., White, D., Guastella, A. J., et al. (2019) · JAMA Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.2360 · Cited by 188 · see citing works
Self-citationMalla, A., Iyer, S., McGorry, P., Cannon, M., Coughlan, H., Singh, S., Jones, P., & Joober, R. (2016) · Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology · doi:10.1007/s00127-015-1165-4 · Cited by 196 · see citing works
Self-citationYouth mental health in the time of COVID-19
Power, E., Hughes, S., Cotter, D., & Cannon, M. (2020) · Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/ipm.2020.84 · Cited by 192 · see citing works
Key attributes of integrated community-based youth service hubs for mental health: a scoping review
Settipani, C. A., Hawke, L. D., Cleverley, K., Chaim, G., Cheung, A., Mehra, K., Rice, M., Szatmari, P., & Henderson, J. (2019) · International Journal of Mental Health Systems · doi:10.1186/s13033-019-0306-7 · Cited by 172 · see citing works
Early intervention for depression in young people: a blind spot in mental health care
Davey, C. G., & McGorry, P. D. (2019) · The Lancet Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(18)30292-x · Cited by 137 · see citing works
Self-citationRickard, N., Arjmand, H.-A., Bakker, D., & Seabrook, E. (2016) · JMIR Mental Health · doi:10.2196/mental.6202 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
Shah, J. L., Jones, N., van Os, J., McGorry, P. D., & Gülöksüz, S. (2022) · The Lancet Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(21)00467-3 · Cited by 109 · see citing works
Self-citationMalla, A., Iyer, S., Shah, J., Joober, R., Boksa, P., Lal, S., Fuhrer, R., Andersson, N., Abdel‐Baki, A., Hutt‐MacLeod, D., et al. (2019) · Early Intervention in Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/eip.12772 · Cited by 107 · see citing works
Provision of mental healthcare for children and adolescents: a worldwide view
Rocha, T. B.-M., Graeff-Martins, A. S., Kieling, C., & Rohde, L. A. (2015) · Current Opinion in Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/yco.0000000000000169 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
O’Keeffe, L., O’Reilly, A., O’Brien, G., Buckley, R., & Illback, R. (2015) · Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/ipm.2014.86 · Cited by 80 · see citing works
Rauschenberg, C., Boecking, B., Paetzold, I., Schruers, K., Schick, A., van Amelsvoort, T., & Reininghaus, U. (2021) · JMIR Mental Health · doi:10.2196/25650 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Byrne, S. J., Bellairs-Walsh, I., Rice, S. M., Bendall, S., Lamblin, M., Boubis, E., McGregor, B., O’Keefe, M., & Robinson, J. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18062892 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Prevention, innovation and implementation science in mental health: the next wave of reform
McGorry, P. (2013) · British Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.112.119222 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Self-citationIyer, S. N., Shah, J., Boksa, P., Lal, S., Joober, R., Andersson, N., Fuhrer, R., Abdel-Baki, A., Beaton, A. M., Reaume-Zimmer, P., et al. (2019) · BMC Psychiatry · doi:10.1186/s12888-019-2232-2 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Ten guiding principles for youth mental health services
Hughes, F., Hebel, L., Badcock, P., & Parker, A. G. (2018) · Early Intervention in Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/eip.12429 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Barbic, S. P., Jones, A. A., Woodward, M., Piercy, M., Mathias, S., Vila-Rodriguez, F., Leonova, O., Smith, G. N., Buchanan, T., Vertinsky, A. T., et al. (2018) · Canadian Journal of Public Health · doi:10.17269/s41997-018-0087-9 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Loos, S., Walia, N., Becker, T., & Puschner, B. (2018) · Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health · doi:10.1186/s13034-018-0249-9 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Wiljer, D., Abi-Jaoude, A., Johnson, A., Ferguson, G., Sanches, M., Levinson, A., Robb, J., Heffernan, O., Herzog, T., Chaim, G., et al. (2016) · JMIR Research Protocols · doi:10.2196/resprot.6446 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Green, R., Mitchell, P. F., Lee, K., Svensson, E., Toh, J.-W., Barentsen, C., Copeland, M., Newton, J. R., Hawke, K. C., & Brophy, L. (2019) · BMC Psychiatry · doi:10.1186/s12888-019-2303-4 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Adu, Oudshoorn, Anderson, Marshall, Stuart, & Stanley (2021) · Issues in Mental Health Nursing · doi:10.1080/01612840.2021.1936710 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Psychologists’ motivations for integrating apps into therapy with secondary school-aged young people
Gindidis, S., Stewart, S. E., & Roodenburg, J. (2020) · Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools · doi:10.1017/jgc.2019.22 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Peters, W., Rice, S., Alvarez‐Jimenez, M., Hetrick, S. E., Halpin, E., Kamitsis, I., Santesteban‐Echarri, O., & Bendall, S. (2022) · Early Intervention in Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/eip.13265 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Child and adolescent psychiatry: challenges, solutions, opportunities, and future directions
Cortese, S., Arango, C., Aymerich, C., Catalan, A., Chetouani, M., Cohen, D., Coghill, D., Gabellone, A., Iniesta, R., Kadan, A., et al. (2026) · World Psychiatry · doi:10.1002/wps.70044 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
- Authors
- McGorry, P., Bates, T., & Birchwood, M.
- Affiliations
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- University of Birmingham (GB)
- Corresponding author
- McGorry, Patrick
- Venue
- British Journal of Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Royal College of Psychiatrists
- Published
- 2013-01
- Volume
- 202
- Issue
- s54
- Pages
- s30-s35
- ISSN
- 0007-1250 (ISSN-L)
- 1472-1465
- OpenAlex
- W2126046211
- Cited by
- 523
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 32 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 54 · 2021: 44 · 2020: 61 · 2019: 76 · 2018: 47 · 2017: 39 · 2016: 33 · 2015: 47 · 2014: 23 · 2013: 9
- FWCI
- 41.49
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- The British Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Lenus, The Irish Health Repository (Dr Steevens Hospital Library) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute for Health and Care Research
- Medical Research Council
- National Health and Medical Research Council
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychiatric care and mental health services
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Speech and Hearing › Adolescent and Pediatric Healthcare
- Keywords
- child and adolescent mental health services, service redesign, access to mental health care, youth, service transformation, Australia, Ireland, United Kingdom
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Australia, Mental Disorders, Child, Child Health Services, United Kingdom, Health Policy, Health Services Accessibility, Humans, Ireland, Mental Health Services, Referral and Consultation, Adolescent Health Services, Evidence-Based Medicine, History, 21st Century, Young Adult
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
