A recent study has revealed that NHS talking therapies for depression and anxiety may be significantly less effective for teenagers and young adults aged 16 to 24 compared to older adults.
Researchers analyzing data from nearly 310,000 young patients treated by NHS Talking Therapies found that this age group was less likely to experience improvement or recovery than those aged 25 to 65.
Published in The Lancet Psychiatry, the study highlights the urgent need to tailor mental health services more effectively for young people, especially as rates of depression and anxiety continue to rise among this demographic.
The research team from University College London (UCL) emphasized that current treatments might not be meeting the unique needs of younger patients.
The analysis, which covered 1.5 million people using the service from 2015 to 2019, found that individuals aged 16-24 were approximately 25% less likely to reach reliable recovery and 17% less likely to show reliable improvement after talking therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), guided self-help, counselling, or interpersonal therapy, compared to those aged 25-65.
If talking therapies were as effective for younger adults as for older adults, the researchers estimate that over 20,000 more young people would have recovered in England during the study period—equating to around 5,000 additional recoveries annually.
The study also noted that young people tend to cancel sessions and drop out of treatment more frequently, even when accounting for treatment intensity and engagement.
Dr Rob Saunders, associate professor of mental health data science at UCL and lead author, stressed the importance of improving services: “Talking therapy is an effective treatment, especially preferred by younger adults over medication. However, since it’s more effective for working-age adults, there is a clear need to enhance services for young people.”
Senior author Professor Argyris Stringaris, a clinician and neuroscientist at UCL, explained that young people face unique challenges accessing adult-focused services and are more likely to miss or stop treatment due to the stressful life transitions common in late teens and early twenties. He called for collaboration with young people to optimize therapy content and delivery.
The researchers also highlighted that early-onset depression may have different causes than adult depression, necessitating further basic and clinical research to develop better-targeted treatments.
The 2023/24 NHS Talking Therapies report showed that 1.83 million referrals were made in England—a 4% increase from the previous year—with 1.26 million people accessing the services.
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