A new video recorded by Kate Middleton with charity Place2Be about challenges faced by mentally ill children has been welcomed by Nottinghamshire.
The video released on Monday (February 16) is in support of Children’s Mental Health Week, which will see a week of charity events raising awareness for the subject.
In the video, the Duchess highlights the “overwhelming” challenges faced by children struggling with mental health problems today.
The Duchess, 33, recently became the face of the first Children’s Mental Health Week, organised by Place2Be, of which the Duchess is Royal Patron.
In the video, the Duchess says:
The stigma around mental health means that many children do not get the help that they so badly need- this needs to change.
The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton
“We need to help young people and their parents understand that it is not a sign of weakness to ask for help.
“A child’s mental health is just as important as their physical health and deserves the same quality of support.”
Nationally £10.5 billion is spent on mental health treatment every year but only six per cent of that goes towards treating children, meaning some have long waits when it comes to being treated.
Place2Be therefore provides children with emotional and therapeutic services in both primary and secondary schools across the country to help them cope with bereavement, bullying, domestic violence, trauma and other complex social issues.
Delivering services in 235 schools in the UK, the charity currently reaches 94,000 children.
Rachel Towler, assistant general manager of Nottingham’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) supported the Duchess’s efforts and said real progress in meeting the needs of children and young people is being made in Nottinghamshire.
She said:
It’s great to see the Duchess of Cambridge raising awareness and encouraging others to talk about issues that children and young people need support with.
Rachel Towler, CAMHS
“Nottinghamshire Healthcare established an internal project last year to transform services and pathways for children and young people with emotional and mental health needs.
“The purpose and aim of the new community integrated model is to provide a seamless pathway which means it is easier to access services for assessments and treatments.”
The Duchess recorded the online video when making a private visit to the Bethlem and Maudsley Hospital School in Beckenham, south London, and will be working alongside the charity for a week of events raising awareness for children’s mental health.
