PhD defence S.E. (Suzanne) Gerritsen

Below is a brief summary of the dissertation:

Suzanne's thesis describes a series of European studies investigating the transition from child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) to adult mental health services (AMHS). These studies were part of the larger MILESTONE study, a longitudinal cohort study of young people reaching the upper age limit of the CAMHS they are in care at, with a 2 year follow-up period. Previous research suggests that the distinction between CAMHS and AMHS can lead to discontinuation of care, which in turn has a negative effect on the mental health of young people when they reach adulthood. To date, however, the extent of these negative effects remains unclear. The studies described in this thesis aimed to assess whether and what type of mental health care young people need after leaving CAMHS, the characteristics of young people following different mental health care trajectories and how these trajectories affect the mental health of young people after 2 years. Additionally, this thesis describes the experiences of young people, parents/carers and clinicians with transition. This theses describes that only one in three CAMHS users report mental health problems in the 'clinical range' and that only one in five CAMHS users actually transition to AMHS. Young people that do transition report more severe mental health problems on average. Our studies did not find evidence that the end of care at CAMHS negatively affects the mental health of young people after 2 years. However, it's not just good news: this thesis does describe groups of young people that are particularly vulnerable, including those with psychotic experiences and those who experience increasing mental health problems over the 2 year follow-up period.