Innovations in CBT for young people: Improving access and outcomes for vulnerable youth

Adolescents have been described as a 'forgotten group' with significant and distinctive health needs, often caught between service frameworks designed for younger children and adults, especially in the mental health arena. Most mental health problems start before aged 14, yet fewer than one quarter of adolescents with diagnosable psychiatric disorders receive appropriate help in the United Kingdom (UK) and Australia. Consequently, families, community agencies and commissioners have requested new service models that surmount existing structural and attitudinal barriers, and expand their range and scope.