Introduction

The transition from childhood to adulthood is an uncertain time for all young people, but many also experience mental health difficulties. It is estimated that up to 20% of 16- to 24-year-olds have a mental health issue at any one time (Singleton and Lewis, 2003). The majority of these will be young people experiencing anxiety or depression, although other mental health conditions, such as schizophrenia, are known to emerge in late adolescence (Ryan, 2006).

Young adults face a number of stressful transitions that can prove a trigger point for their mental health, including the transition from school to work or university, leaving the family home or managing relationships. As mentioned in earlier chapters, young people in higher education experience an extended adolescence, particularly if they remain in the family home while completing their studies or return home after university. This can involve an element of backtracking in which young adults revert to a form of dependence on their parents, a situation that is at odds with the linear conceptualisation of transition between Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and Adult Mental Health Services (AMHS) (Health and Social Care Advisory Service, 2006). It is therefore important that issues related to transition are acknowledged well after the young person has entered adult services.

This chapter looks at positive ways to improve transitional mental health services for young people aged between 16 and 24, while acknowledging the financial constraints on the sector as a whole. Rather than see transition as an event, it is important to acknowledge it as a process that takes place over a number of years to account for this extended period of instability for young adults (Health and Social Care Advisory Service, 2006). By listening to young people and encouraging a person-centred approach, services can be developed to ensure useful and effective provision. The joint working agenda needs to be applied to this situation to encourage greater collaboration between children's and adults’ mental health services. Many young people arrive in mental health services with a complex range of other issues. A holistic approach that looks at wider problems may help them to engage with a range of services and ease their transition out of CAMHS.