"I gave a simple answer, that yes, I did think there was overdiagnosis, that too many people were being written off, and too many people weren't getting the support they needed. I was then deluged with messages and emails of both enthusiastic agreement and visceral disagreement including from mental health clinicians on both sides of the argument. One angry patient messaged to say: Far from overdiagnosis, I can't even get an appointment to get a diagnosis."
"The truth is there has been a massive growth in mental health and behavioural issues and there isn't a consensus within the mental health clinical community on what is driving it. There was an almost 50% increase in mental health problems among adults between 1993 and 2023. Mental health referrals for children and young people increased by about 50% in just two years during the pandemic."
Mental health and behavioural issues have grown substantially, with almost a 50% rise among adults from 1993 to 2023 and a roughly 50% rise in child and youth referrals during the pandemic. Thirteen times more people are waiting for autism assessment today than in 2019. Clinicians lack consensus on drivers, which may include greater openness, awareness, pandemic effects, or other factors. Service capacity has not kept pace despite over 50% spending growth since 2019, producing long waits—around 109,000 young people waited more than a year—and causing serious personal harms, including suicide attempts and family suffering.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]