‘I just want to feel ordinary’ – Is the mental health system failing teens?

Mia spends much of her time staring out her bedroom window, the view dominated by a nearby housing block.

With no lift, the only way the 14-year-old can leave her second-floor flat is by shuffling down the stairs on her bottom.

It’s been years since Mia felt ordinary, a near lifelong sense that she didn’t fit in. It all got too much for her a few months ago when she made a suicide attempt that has left her with paraplegia, unable to move the lower part of her body - and she now needs a wheelchair.

“I can't change the past now,” Mia says, “it feels spiteful that I can only look at the future, and that I have no clue what is going to happen.”

The teenager’s story, indeed much of her life, will be familiar to the many families who have struggled to navigate the creaking mental health system, leaving them feeling their concerns have been downplayed or dismissed.

Towards the end of her first year in secondary school, Christina was contacted by a teacher who said the school believed Mia was autistic. This time an assessment was made, which diagnosed the condition. It helped with her education. Mia was given extra support during exams and with homework. But it didn’t lead to a huge shift in psychiatric help, says Christina.

There was a stop-start nature to the help Mia received over the years. An occasional eight-week course of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), then nothing for a few months, then some sessions with a different therapist.

Christina says appointments would sometimes be cancelled as the therapist was ill, or changed jobs, leaving Mia feeling little progress was being made.

Whittington Health said the care it provided to Mia was “in line with national guidance”.

“Such care is inherently complex and we regret that her difficulties continued to escalate," it said.

An NHS England spokesperson added: “Our thoughts are with Mia and her family. The NHS is determined to improve children’s mental health and autism services... because we know there are some people waiting too long for care."

The Care Quality Commission - which is responsible for inspecting NHS hospitals - says mental health services are struggling with recruitment, including the right mix of staff, “all of which are having an impact on capacity, and the availability and regularity of appointments”.

It encouraged the NHS to “actively involve parents in their child’s care decisions” adding that “addressing their concerns promptly is critical to safety”.

It's a recommendation that Christina dearly wishes had been acted on much earlier.

In the summer of 2023, when Mia’s health deteriorated further, she was prescribed a course of anti-depressants. She was told the medication could lead to her putting on weight, which infuriated Christina, as her daughter then developed an eating disorder.