ArticleBMJ open2025
While they wait: a cross-sectional survey on wait times for mental health treatment for anxiety and depression for adolescents in Australia.
Article in BMJ open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Experiences of individuals presenting to the emergency department for mental health reasons: A systematic mixed studies review.The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Development of a web-based resource for parents to support youth mental health: An exploratory sequential mixed methods approach.Internet interventions · 2026Article
- Health Care Professionals' Perspectives on Conversational Mental Health Chatbots: Protocol for a Systematic Review.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Wellbeing While Waiting: Effectiveness and implementation of youth social prescribing for young people awaiting CAMHS support.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- A scoping review of the use of artificial intelligence as a psychological assessment tool.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- Comprehensive Model for Mental health Access and service use (CoMMA): A process model for technology-enhanced mental healthcare.Internet interventions · 2026Review
- Addressing the Psychological Needs of Adolescents During the Wait Time for Mental Health Treatment: Service Design Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Experiences of youth and caregivers waiting for mental health services in the UK: a qualitative study to inform policy and practice.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- Navigating the complexity of AI adoption in psychotherapy by identifying key facilitators and barriers.Npj mental health research · 2026Article
- How Australia's social media minimum age law may reshape research recruitment for adolescents under 16.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2026Review
- Clinician perspectives about delivering a blended care treatment model for adolescent depression: a qualitative study.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2025Article
- Insights from fifteen years of real-world development, testing and implementation of youth digital mental health interventions.Internet interventions · 2025Review
- User Character Strengths and Engagement Prediction on a Digital Mental Health Platform for Young People: Longitudinal Observational Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Observational
- Article
- Exploring cannabis consumption stigma in Canada with consideration of age and gender differences.Addictive behaviors reports · 2025Article
- A meta-analysis of persuasive design, engagement, and efficacy in 92 RCTs of mental health apps.NPJ digital medicine · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLong wait times impede timely access to mental health treatment for anxiety and depression for adolescents. However, there is limited quantitative research on current wait times for the treatment of anxiety and depression for adolescents in Australia and the impact of wait times on adolescent help-seekers.
aimsThis study examined adolescents' experiences of wait times for the treatment of anxiety and depression in Australia, including the providers they were waiting to access, the self-reported duration and perceived acceptability of wait times, the association between these wait times and psychological distress and the support and coping behaviours used by adolescents during this time.
methodFrom April to June 2022, 375 adolescents aged 13-17 years who were living in Australia and currently waiting, or had previously waited in the past 12 months, for mental health treatment for anxiety and depression completed a cross-sectional online survey.
resultsMost adolescents initiated care with psychologists and psychiatrists, with mean wait times of 100.1 days (SD: 77.25) and 127.5 days (SD: 78.80), respectively. The mean wait time across all treatment providers was 99.6 days (SD: 80.44). Most participants (85.2%) felt their wait times were 'too long'. Longer wait times were associated with increased psychological distress, and many adolescents perceived that their mental health worsened during the wait time. Most participants did not receive any support from their healthcare providers during the wait time and engaged in maladaptive and risky coping behaviours while waiting. However, self-reported treatment attendance remained high.
conclusionsAdolescents in Australia face lengthy wait times when accessing mental health treatment, and this may exacerbate distress and maladaptive coping.
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