By Specialist Speech and Language Therapist Frankie Paterson
Speech Therapists and Counsellors Join Forces!
As a busy Speech and Language Therapy service providing support to over a thousand people, our team at Magic Words Therapy have been struck by the increase in mental health needs amongst people of all ages using our service. This has always been a noticeable trend but since the global Coronavirus pandemic took hold last year, we have observed a stark increase in mental health concerns amongst our clients.
Our observations are shared by other independent speech and language therapists in our network and back up what is being found on a national scale:
1. According to the Office for National Statistics ‘Opinions and Lifestyle Survey’ covering January to March 2021, around 21% of adults experienced some form of depression in early 2021; more than double what was observed before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic (10%).
2. 67% of young people surveyed in January 2021 by the Young Minds charity believed that the pandemic would have a long-term negative effect on their mental health.
3. The Children’s Commissioner reported a 35% increase in referrals to children’s mental health services in 2019/20.
The fact that there is a mental health crisis in this country is undeniable but fully explainable, given the current global backdrop of climate change, social inequality, and the Coronavirus pandemic.
Let’s come back to the mental health threats often posed by communication difficulties. Children with unclear speech often struggle to be understood by those around them and can experience isolation and frustration, which sometimes becomes an issue in itself. Adults that have had strokes or other forms of brain injury can experience much the same but with an added sense of loss and grief for the person they were before their brain injury. Autism can be accompanied by mental health struggles as the person negotiates the challenges of their condition such as hypersensitivity and anxiety and the struggle to function in a world that sadly is all too often not inclusive of Autistic or other neurodiverse people.
Some communication challenges have a psychological as well as a neurological origin. For example, stammering. Stammering is known to be caused by a combination of factors, including psychological, environmental, and neurological. Selective Mutism, when an individual has a phobia about speaking in certain environments with particular people, is also known to be partly psychological in origin.
Since the lockdowns began, we have seen a growing number of cases of both Selective Mutism and stammering that have arisen in people seemingly as a reaction to the strain that this worrying time has had on these individuals.
We know from the various institutions we work in, such as schools, care homes and private and public workplaces, that they have been inundated by rising numbers of people needing mental health support. Sadly that need is often not getting met due to the sheer numbers of people needing help.
Magic Words has provided Online Speech and Language Therapy since before the pandemic began and this has seen a huge growth in popularity during lockdowns and beyond. We have recently set up an Online Counselling service to do our bit towards easing what would seem to be a mental health crisis in the UK.
We’re excited about the launch of this service and are looking forward to learning from the very experienced and talented group of Counsellors we have recently welcomed to our Magic Words team. We envision that working alongside them will enhance and develop our practice as Speech and Language Therapists and that this will be a two-way growth opportunity! Exciting times ahead!
Office for National Statistics: ‘Opinions and Lifestyle Survey’ January to March 2021. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/articles/coronavirusanddepressioninadultsgreatbritain/januarytomarch2021
Coronavirus: Impact on Young People with Mental Health Needs Surveys conducted by ‘Young Minds’, January 2021. https://youngminds.org.uk/about-us/reports/coronavirus-impact-on-young-people-with-mental-health-needs/#covid-19-january-2021-survey
Children’s Commissioner report ‘The State of Children’s Mental Health Services 2020/21’, January 2021
