Youth Mental Health Multimorbidity

Mental health multimorbidity is the experience of having multiple co-occurring mental health conditions such as depression and psychosis.

Mental health multimorbidity in young people can lead to significant impact on their emotional, physical, and social health and can persist into adulthood. While it is increasingly recognized that many youth seeking mental health care have multiple conditions, getting appropriate and timely diagnosis and treatment can be difficult. While treatments for conditions like depression, anxiety, and eating disorders exist, they do not always address multiple concerns. The approach to treating one condition does not necessarily apply to the other conditions.

Despite the prevalence of having , young people experiencing multiple mental health challenges are often excluded from participating in research. The lack of research makes it hard to understand their experiences and create effective pathways to care. These barriers can have negative impacts on young people seeking accessible and effective treatment options.