Number of children having anxiety counselling rises 60 per cent
The number of children having therapy for anxiety has risen by 60 per cent in two years, new figures show.
Childline said growing distress among children and teenagers was fuelling record numbers of counselling sessions, including thousands for children having panic attacks.
Their figures show 13,746 sessions in 2016/17 for children suffering from anxiety – including more than 3,304 suffering panic attacks.
Peter Wanless, chief executive of the NSPCC said: “Anxiety is a growing problem in young people’s lives today, and it is not going away. We all need to help children and teenagers find ways to cope with their anxious feelings and not dismiss them as an overreaction.
“One of the most important ways to help those that are struggling is to make sure they know they always have someone to talk to and they never have to suffer alone, which is why Childline is so vital.”
Dame Esther Rantzen, founder and president of Childline said: “It’s only natural for children and young people to feel worried sometimes, but when they are plagued by constant fears which result in panic attacks and make them too anxious to leave their homes then they need urgent support.
It follows warnings from the Health Secretary that heavy use of social media is fuelling increasing despair, inadequacy and levels of self-harm among children.
Related Posts
Tags
Share This
