It's a “considerable gap“which is worrying. On the one hand, the needs of young French people in terms of mental health, on the other hand, the “child reception, support and treatment capabilities“insufficient for the growing demand. In an opinion issued on November 21, the Council for Children and Adolescents once again sounds the alarm”on help and care for the psychological suffering of children and adolescents“. In March 2023, this Council had already published a report “When children are bad, how can we help them?”
The mental health of children and adolescents is deteriorating and this public is paying the consequences of “crises faced by the health sector, mental health and child psychiatry“warns the Council. A study carried out by Santé Publique France in 2022 shows that 13% of 6-11 year olds”have at least one probable mental health disorder“.
23% of young people say they have had suicidal thoughts
The opinion also cites a Unicef study published in 2024 in which 36% of children surveyed say “be sad or no longer have a taste for anything“: 31% have already had suicidal thoughts. On November 21, an Ifop study carried out on young people between 11 and 24 years old revealed a depressive episode lasting at least 2 weeks in one in two young people (48%), including 25% in the last 12 months And 23% of young people say they have had suicidal thoughts, including 9% in the last twelve months.
Faced with this observation, the political response exists but political instability and the slowness of the implementation of public policies slow down the effects. In May 2024, the Pediatrics and Child Health Conference resulted in a report of 400 proposals. The Minister of Health then announced a “2024-2030 roadmap to improve prevention, health care, mental health and research“. Which led Michel Barnier to establish “mental health”, a great national cause of 2025.
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