A TOTAL of 30,000 young people in south Essex suffer from some form of mental health issue, with Basildon, Southend and Thurrock being areas of most concern.

It comes after the Mental Health Foundation revealed 70 per cent of poorly children fail to receive early enough intervention, sparking a snowballing of symptoms and placing further strain on health services.

An Essex County Council task and finish group, which has been carrying out a probe into how authorities can promote mental health across south Essex, reported this month that a “holistic approach” is needed, bringing together councils, schools, and the North East London Trust.

The group discovered the most common conditions are life-threatening emotional disorder, self-harm and conduct disorder, also known as antisocial disorder- where symptoms often present themselves from age 14.

Its report went on to state that areas of deprivation are a “contributing factor” why children suffer from mental health issues.

Andrew Gordon, a Basildon councillor who suffers from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, welcomed the report.

At age 14, Mr Gordon alienated himself from school, friends and his support network.

Soon after, he suffered from delusional voices before being treated at a psychiatric ward.

He said: “There needs to be a pro-active approach in the way we deal with mental illness, because at the moment our society is re-active towards it.

“I am in huge support of this report. It looks at involving schools across the area to look at ways they can keep children’s minds healthy, and additional services outside of schools where children can get support.

“I received early intervention from a great support network and it helped, however, the day I turned 18 all of that was taken away from me.

“There needs to be some way the services are followed through.”

He emphasised the need of early intervention, because a child with a mental health condition is prone to isolate themselves.

That isolation, in turn, exacerbates the condition, as it did with Mr Gordon.

He described the peak of his poorly episodes as if the world “had gone black” and called on parents to be there for their little ones.

He continued: “You can have a psychiatrist, you can have support from a mental health team, you can have all of the clinical boxes ticked.

“But you also need someone just to ‘be there.

“When you’re isolating yourself you need to have a friend.

“I’m speaking from experience. When someone is having an episode they often aren’t aware of what’s going on.

“When I was at my worst, the whole world had gone black.”

The task group rolled out nine recommendations to council bosses,

They include a cross-agency approach to treatment, a waiting time that is “considerably less” than the national average, alongside more support in schools.

They recommended: “All Essex schools should understand and develop the best practice established by some schools who use early intervention, access to pastoral help, peer mentoring, liaison with outside agencies (and) whole school training.”

The Trust, which took over child and adolescent mental health services in 2015, has also taken to the internet by launching mental health services, to help reach out to a wider audience.

A spokesman said: “The way in which we offer support can differ from young person to young person as every journey is unique.

“The type of support that young people are offered includes sign-posting, crisis support, specialist assessments and face to face therapy either individually or in groups.”

An Essex County Council spokesman said: “North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) is the countywide provider of children’s emotional, wellbeing and mental health services in Essex, Southend and Thurrock and is working closely with the county’s schools, clinical commissioning groups and local authorities to ensure that the needs of all young people are supported.”

If you or your children have experienced any problems being seen by a mental health professional, email sean.axtell@nqe.com