Mental Health Awareness Week 2026: Evidence and Opportunities for Change

Monday 11 May marks the start of Mental Health Awareness Week. The week provides an important opportunity to focus attention on our mental health and wellbeing, and to reflect on how research, policy and practice can better respond to rising levels of need.

In this blog, Professors Essi Viding and Argyris Stringaris (Pro-Vice-Provosts for Mental Health & Wellbeing) draw on findings from a recent YouGov poll commissioned by UCL’s Grand Challenge of Mental Health & Wellbeing. The results highlight both the scale of mental health difficulties among young people and the urgency of strengthening prevention, early intervention and support.

The survey of 16–25-year-olds in Britain found that almost two-thirds (64%) reported having experienced mental health difficulties. Prevalence was highest among those aged 20–21, with 40% reporting difficulties, and women were substantially more likely than men to report mental health difficulties (72% compared with 56%). Respondents identified a range of pressures affecting their mental health, most notably experiences related to school or university (17%) and financial stress (16%). Young people not in work or education were particularly vulnerable, with nearly half (47%) reporting current mental health difficulties, compared with 32% of the overall sample.

Looking ahead, around one third (32%) of respondents anticipated needing mental health support within the next year, pointing to sustained and growing demand. However, patterns of help-seeking suggest a continued reliance on informal support: friends (53%) and family members (47%) were the most commonly cited sources of help. Men were more than twice as likely as women to report not seeking support from anyone at all (16% versus 7%). These findings underline the need for policy and services to better align with how young people experience mental health difficulties and where they are most likely to seek support.

Responding effectively requires a stronger emphasis on prevention and early intervention. This includes improving our ability to identify who is at greatest risk, when support is most needed, and what types of intervention are most likely to be effective. Such challenges cannot be addressed within disciplinary silos. UCL’s Grand Challenge of Mental Health & Wellbeing brings together researchers from across fields, reflecting the complex biological, psychological and social drivers of mental health difficulties and the need for integrated solutions.

Equally, effective interventions must be developed in partnership with communities, ensuring they are proportional to the problem (to avoid over- or under-treatment), acceptable, accessible and scalable. Work supported through the Grand Challenge includes the design and piloting of a new social prescribing pathway for young people receiving mental health support, with an explicit aim at reducing NHS waitlists. An additional Grand Challenges-funded project trials exercise as a means of prevention of mental health problems amongst university students. These are done alongside work on advances in pharmacological research necessary for certain conditions. Plans are also underway to establish a cross-disciplinary research UCL Healthy Minds Hub focused on understanding mechanisms of change, what works, for whom, and under what conditions, while maintaining a clear focus on implementation at scale. 

Despite the rising prevalence of mental health difficulties, research in this area has historically been underfunded relative to physical health. This imbalance has contributed to limited progress in the effectiveness of mental health interventions over recent decades, even as demand has increased. Addressing the mental health needs of children and young people therefore, requires not only service reform, but sustained investment in research that can inform policy and practice.

These challenges are now receiving renewed attention at the national level. An independent review commissioned by the UK Secretary of State for Health and led by UCL’s Professor Peter Fonagy will examine how mental health, autism and ADHD services are delivered in England. Reporting in summer 2026, the review will inform the government’s 10-Year Health Plan and its commitments to tackling the mental health crisis across the life course. 
Ensuring that evidence from research is translated into policy will be critical if meaningful and lasting change is to be achieved.

These activities will be featured and discussed in the upcoming Children’s Mental Health Week event, supported by UCL’s Grand Challenge of Mental Health & Wellbeing: Approaches to promote children’s mental health and wellbeing on Monday, 9 February from 3-5pm. 

Also, do sign up for our Mental Health & Wellbeing Conference, taking place during Mental Health Awareness Week on Wednesday 13 May to hear more about how UCL are improving interventions for children's and young people's mental health.