It is time that we as a Nation took seriously the task of preventing mental health problems and treating mental illnesses in youth. In 1995, as part of the National Mental Health Strategy, the Federal Government funded a national survey to establish the prevalence of mental disorders, disability and service use in the Australian population. Findings of the latter survey were released recently 3 and are summarised in the Box . The strength of the child and adolescent survey was that it considered mental health problems in a variety of ways, including psychiatric diagnosis, service use, and the impact of mental disorders on quality of life.
Some findings are worth highlighting.
That is, half a million Australians aged 4-17 years have serious emotional and behavioural problems. 3 Second, these conditions impair their functioning and quality of life. Disturbed young people also behave in ways injurious to health much more often than their healthy counterparts. Third, only a quarter of those who need help receive it. Mental disorders impose a heavy burden on children, families and communities 1,2,4 and often persist into adulthood.