Elin Gerdin, 20, has landed in the apartment in Sundsvall after an appointment at adult psychiatry. She otherwise divides her time between enrolling in high school, which she was unable to complete due to her mental illness, and voluntary work at a girls' emergency and as an ambassador for the national association HjÀrnkoll.
Her teenage years were characterized by the feeling of being abandoned, something Elin Gerdin links to her adoption from China to Sweden as a baby.
- The connection problems led to me often feeling abandoned. Other traumatic events such as our house burning down made me feel very bad mentally, she says.
Elin Gerdin's mental state worsened to the point that she began to self-harm, have suicidal thoughts and ran away from home. But despite that, there was no support from the upper secondary school, she says.
- The only thing the school did was talk to my parents. Once I got an urgent referral from the school doctor to bup, we had a conversation and then they just wrote an assessment.
Elin finally got a conversational contact on bup with a counselor with whom she enjoyed herself, but after the counselor stopped abruptly, the conversations were paused.
- I then got a psychologist with whom I didn't click at all and had to wait a long time to get a new assessment. I felt that the psychologist did not take me and my parents seriously, she says.
A recent report from the umbrella organization National Partnership for Mental Health, NSPH, which is based on 2,329 survey responses from young people aged 15-30 and their relatives, shows that Elin is far from alone.
Fewer than half, only 41 percent of the 944 young people who answered, feel that the care contributed to a better feeling or was designed according to their needs.
38 percent state that they have received enough information or felt involved.
Conny Allaskog, chairman of NSPH, is concerned:
- These are terrible numbers to be aware of. Despite extensive care contacts, the rating is low, he says.
Elin Gerdin's history is full of examples of what she considers inadequate care during her upbringing. She was admitted to psychiatric inpatient care when she was 15 years old and then she was placed in a HVB home until she turned 19 years old.
When she came of age and was to be transferred to adult psychiatry, the handover from the doctor failed, she says.
After repeated suicide attempts, she finally got help.
- But instead of talking to me about my history and my needs, they got to know me through my journal, she says and continues:
- I find it frustrating that I had to feel so bad mentally before I got help.
Almost half of those who participated in NSPH's survey have experienced that their care has shifted from bup to adult psychiatry. Half of the group answers, like Elin Gerdin, that the transition worked poorly and three out of four have not been allowed to participate in the process.
Conny Allaskog says that the gap that often arises between the two bodies creates major consequences for the young.
- The person may return to a worse state of health or backslide in their treatment. This in turn affects many parts of life, such as going to school, he says.
At the same time, the transition has great significance for how young people perceive the continued care. Among young people who have a positive experience of the transition, 73 percent are satisfied with adult psychiatry.
- Coordination is crucial for young people to receive the care they need. We have many examples where bup pauses the treatment, or where young people are left without care after their 18th birthday, because adult psychiatry does not want to accept them and no other care intervention takes over, says Conny Allaskog.
Elin Gerdin feels that she lacked support measures in primary school, something that the report confirms is very common.
- I would have liked more contact with the counselor or school nurse to be caught at an earlier stage, she says.
Conny Allaskog states that over 40 percent of the respondents highlight that a diagnosis was required to receive support in elementary school - contrary to what the law says. At the same time, 59 percent answered that they often stayed home from school because of their mental health.
- This is a huge problem for our target groups. If you fail in school, how does it affect the adult world? How does it affect your chances of getting a job? How does it affect future relationships? It could have major consequences if these years don't turn out well, says Conny Allaskog.
