‘Huge feeling of loneliness among island’s young people’

There are now about 50 in therapy or on the waiting list.

The 16-25 age group was one of the hardest hit by mental health issues around the pandemic, said Guernsey Mind’s youth co-ordinator, Jazz McCutcheon.

‘There has been a huge feeling of loneliness among young people. I have seen 75 people for initial appointments since February 2021 and maybe 80% have now engaged in some sort of therapy or continued to come in and see me for support. It has been quite non-stop.’

Miss McCutcheon said the pandemic had had a massive impact on young people’s mental health and they had been prevented from doing all the things young adults were supposed to do.

‘They are part of an age group where you should be able to explore who you are, take risks, go places and be with friends but they have had to make a lot of sacrifices.’

The 16-25 service started in February as Guernsey Mind were finding that there was an increasing demand for young people needing support, and also a number of young people going as far as contemplating suicide.

Miss McCutcheon co-ordinates one-to-one therapy, group therapies and bodywork therapy for young people, depending on their individual needs.

She is also currently leading on an ‘intergenerational trauma’ project which is aimed at providing support for women within the 16-25 age range, to prevent cycles of domestic violence, abuse, poor mental health, homelessness, poverty and substance misuse.

‘Half of what school is about [is] finding out how you identify, how you connect with others and the social side of it. They have lost that whole part.’

She said that lockdown and Covid had forced young people back into very close family situations which could cause more conflict and arguments and they could not escape.

‘The only freedom people had was spending a limited amount of time outside per day. Almost two years of living like that has made a lot of young people feel trapped. They were also fearful of making someone else ill.

‘They have received a lot of criticism but I think they have been doing all they can and making sacrifices for the people they care about.

‘Young people have been amazing. They have put their lives on hold to protect others.’

Guernsey Mind hosts fundraising events to help pay for the 16-25 service. A significant proportion of the funding came from the ‘Morgan is Me’ campaign, which raised awareness for young people’s mental health support after a young Guernsey man took his own life in May last year.

A music event promoting the launch of the 16-25 service was due to take place earlier this year but was postponed due to the pandemic and bad weather. The ‘Unbroken’ festival is now planned for 18 September.

• Young people aged 16-25 can access support from this service by emailing jazz.mccutcheon@guernseymind.org.gg or calling 722959.