The observations of Newcastle-based counsellors and psychologists regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people’s mental health are backed up by recently released Kids Helpline data.

Kids Helpline has released data from December 2020 to May 2021, revealing a 40 per cent increase in duty of care interventions for young people in NSW compared to the same period a year ago. 

For children and young people aged between five and 25 years, the data shows 44 per cent of emergency interventions were in response to child abuse and 35 per cent in response to intent to enact suicide. 

Kids Helpline said it feared an increase in child vulnerability and emergency interventions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and consequential lockdowns. 

“It is very clear that the pandemic is taking a toll on the lives of children and young people; however, thankfully by young people seeking help, Kids Helpline has supported 862 suicide prevention interventions nationally in the past six months,” the service said.

Newcastle headspace community development worker Byron Williams said young people had been hit the hardest during COVID-19.

“We have recognised that those rites of passage that you go through as a 16- to 25-year-old, like moving out of home, going to uni, going to festivals and travelling, have all been impacted by COVID. 

“At this stage, your identity moves away from your family and towards your friends, so not having access and connection with those experiences can be difficult.”

Williams said maintaining connections and social interactions was essential to keeping a healthy mind but this had been hard to maintain during lockdown. 

“There are some basic things that are really important but obviously really easy to forget when someone is in the midst of depression or anxiety – exercise and getting outside is a big one, but also staying connected,” Williams said.

“Sometimes your instincts can be to lock yourself away and to avoid everyone, but it’s really beneficial to stay connected to friends, family, school and work.

“Often we see when a person is having a really tough time, and sometimes when we lose a young person to suicide, they have all lost that connection – connection to family, school, work, sports and music groups.

“So our job in the early intervention space is to try and maintain those connections; the more you are connected to something, the more support you will have, as well as having more of a chance of someone spotting the signs.”

Principal clinical and forensic psychologist Tarnya Davis, from NewPsych Psychologists, said waiting lists in Newcastle had never been so long. She said people were stressed, out of routine and not taking time away to rest.

Davis said COVID-19 had opened up risks of unemployment, poverty, and the inability to study, all on top of a current housing crisis. She said many found themselves forced to live with families, which added more stress and sometimes violence to the situation.

People aged 12-25 seeking help for a mental health problem should contact headspace or Kids Helpline.

Hayley McMahon