The Young Wales Mental Health and Wellbeing Advisory Board, made up of young people from across Wales, meets every eight weeks to discuss key mental health and wellbeing issues affecting them and their peers.
On Saturday, 8th February, Sarah Murphy, Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing, attended a board meeting to hear directly from young people about their concerns and priorities. The discussion provided a platform for young voices to shape the future of mental health support in Wales.
During the meeting, young people took part in workshops focused on mental health in schools, sharing their personal experiences with the Minister.
Key concerns included:
- Support for teaching staff – ensuring they receive the right training and resources.
- Long waiting lists – delays in accessing mental health support remain a major issue.
- Family challenges – divorce and poverty add to mental health struggles.
- External counselling – external providers’ waiting lists were also an issue, and some found external services to be ineffective or even harmful, with some counsellors lacking the necessary education and lived experience to truly understand young people’s struggles: “they don’t have the lived experience to relate to what we are going through”.
- Exam stress – a significant factor impacting students’ wellbeing.
The discussion highlighted the urgent need for better mental health support, properly trained professionals, and reduced waiting times for young people in Wales.
“She (the Minister) really listened and didn’t interrupt us. She really cared about what we had to say”
Kai, a member of the Youth Advisory Board said:
“The Minister shared her experiences of being a teenager and was dismayed that some things had not improved for young people.”
- The Minister will be launching the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy for all ages – have an initial conversation to be seen and heard and then finding the best support.
- The Minister is hoping that the waiting lists will drop – nobody should be waiting this long. The Minister will do as much as she can and thanked the young people for their time.
“Don’t stop speaking up / calling out language – you are all very powerful when you are all together”. Sarah Murphy, Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing.
Sarah Murphy, Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing, said:
“It was a real privilege to meet the members of the Young Wales Mental Health and Wellbeing Advisory Board and to hear about the issues which concern and affect them. They showed incredible maturity in sharing their experiences of mental health support in Wales. Their voices will help to shape how we deliver mental health services in Wales.”
The Mental Health and Wellbeing National Youth Strategic Group really benefitted from the discussion and the opportunity to put questions to the Minister. The Minister was open and honest with the young people, listening to their concerns and taking on board their views and ideas. Children in Wales look forward to inviting the Minister back again.