NHS England's Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey reveals the proportion of young adults aged 16-24 with a common mental health condition has risen from 18.9% in 2014 to 25.8% in 2023/24, while the proportion of people aged 16-74 with common mental health condition symptoms receiving mental health treatments has risen from 39.4% in 2014 to 47.7% in 2023/24.

In addition, the figures reveal non-suicidal self-harm in 16- to 74-year-olds has increased from 6.4% in 2014 to 10.3% in 2023/24, while self-harm is more common in women than men at almost all age brackets. The biggest difference in 16–24-year-olds, where 31.7% of women have self-harmed compared with 15.4% of men.

In response, Rebecca Gray, mental health director at the NHS Confederation, said: ‘These new figures paint a deeply worrying but sadly unsurprising picture, which reflect that our members have seen significant increases in demand over this period but also a rise in the acuity and complexity of needs – with many people coming to services for the first time in crisis.

‘The rising proportion of people accessing treatment is very welcome and shows that the roll out of talking therapies has made it easier for many people to access care. But there is still a wide treatment gap between demand and capacity. We need to ensure the right level of resource is in place alongside NHS organisations' increasing use of technology and new ways of working to reduce waiting lists.

She added: ‘The increased prevalence of self-harm is also very concerning and indicates the importance of being able to use data across services at a population level to be able to target services earlier, for example at young people who have experience of the care system.

‘All this data reinforces the need to boost early intervention to support people before they get to crisis point. Our members are working hard to develop and roll out new models of care to support people earlier, in the community, and when they need it most. Many are providing open access services and spaces often in partnership with the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector . We hope the expanding mental health support teams in schools will have a positive impact on reducing the number of young people entering adulthood with poor mental health.'