Feelings that others are dismissive or blame parents commonly cited as reasons for not accessing help for children and young people with mental health concerns.

 “Cumbersome” mental health services with long waiting times and difficulties getting a referral also cited.

Parents feeling blamed for their child’s mental health difficulties has been cited as a common reason for them not seeking support, according to new research from the University of Reading.

In a study of barriers to accessing mental health services for and young people, one of the most commonly raised issues was concern about negative attitudes towards parents of children and young people with mental health problems in nearly half (46%) of the qualitative papers reviewed, and a quarter of quantitative papers. The feeling of being dismissed or blamed by professionals was similarly highly cited, in 42% of qualitative papers.

Tessa Reardon, lead author of the research from the Anxiety and Depression in Young people (AnDY) research clinic at the University of Reading said:

“Growing numbers of children and young people experience mental health problems, but only a small number of these young people receive professional help. This research highlights the many difficulties parents face accessing professional help for mental health problems in children and teenagers – and by doing so also highlights the key improvements and interventions that are needed to help ensure more young people who experience mental health problems receive the help they need.

“A concerning finding highlights how frequently parents feel blamed for their children’s difficulties and how important it is to remove this stigma to enable parents to access support for their children with .”

Read more: Blame culture preventing parents accessing mental health support for children

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