More than a million children and young people in England were referred to NHS mental health services last year, with anxiety remaining the leading reason for referral and suspected autism showing the fastest rate of increase.
The latest analysis of NHS England data by the Children’s Commissioner for England paints a sobering picture. During the 12 months to March 2025, more than one in every 10 children had an active referral to Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services (CYPMHS), almost double the number recorded six years earlier.
In her annual report, Dame Rachel de Souza said she was “in no doubt that we are facing a crisis” in young people’s mental health.
She added: “These are not just numbers, but children whose lives have been put on hold for months and, in some cases, years waiting for support they urgently need.”
The report reveals that more than one in three children referred for help are still waiting for treatment, while more than 60,000 have been waiting for over two years. Anxiety accounts for 16 per cent of all referrals, while suspected autism referrals have risen by 47 per cent in just a year. Other neurodevelopmental conditions, including ADHD and Tourette’s syndrome, have also increased sharply.
The figures rightly raise urgent questions about funding, waiting times and the capacity of NHS services. Yet they also invite a broader conversation about the emotional and spiritual landscape in which today’s young people are growing up.
Children are navigating a world unlike any previous generation has known. Social media, online comparison, academic pressure, fractured family life, economic uncertainty and a relentless digital culture have become part of everyday experience. Greater awareness of mental health has undoubtedly encouraged more young people to seek help, which is to be welcomed. Even so, the scale of the increase suggests something deeper is taking place.
For Christians, mental illness should never be reduced to a question of faith or personal spirituality. Anxiety, depression and neurodevelopmental conditions are complex realities requiring compassionate, evidence-based care and, where appropriate, medical treatment. The Church has an important responsibility to reject simplistic explanations that imply someone could simply “pray harder” or “have more faith”.
At the same time, it is also reasonable to ask whether the decline of faith and religious practice has left many people without some of the deeper foundations that have historically helped communities navigate uncertainty.
Christian faith may not always completely eliminate anxiety, but it has long offered something that modern society often struggles to provide: a secure identity rooted not in achievement or popularity, but in being loved by God; a sense of purpose beyond success or failure; the support of an intergenerational community; rhythms of worship, prayer and rest; and a hope that extends beyond present circumstances.
Many psychologists acknowledge that belonging, meaning and supportive relationships are significant protective factors for mental wellbeing. For Christians, these are not merely therapeutic concepts but central features of discipleship and life within the Church.
None of this suggests that faith is a substitute for professional mental health care. Rather, it points to the possibility that spiritual wellbeing and emotional wellbeing are often more closely connected than public debate sometimes allows.
Dame Rachel said the NHS data “clearly demonstrates the sheer scale of distress young people are facing today”.
She continued: “While there have been some encouraging signs, with more children receiving support last year, it is hard to ignore the colossal challenge facing mental health services, as demand outpaces system capacity and funding.”
Her call for greater collaboration across health, education and social care is both timely and necessary. Yet perhaps there is also room to ask whether society should be thinking more deeply about the role of families, communities, churches and shared beliefs in nurturing resilience long before crisis point is reached.
The mental health crisis facing children cannot be solved by healthcare alone. It will require investment, earlier intervention and better support. But it may also prompt a wider conversation about what enables young people not simply to cope, but to flourish. For Christians, that conversation inevitably includes the enduring hope that faith in Christ offers not an escape from life’s struggles, but a foundation on which to face them.
Duncan Williams is outreach director for the Christian Free Press and has worked for Son Christian Media here in the UK and Recovery Network Radio in the United States. He is an ordained minister and a long-term member of Christians in Media. He provides content and syndicated news for regional publisher www.inyourarea.co.uk
