
Jigsaw, the leading youth mental health charity, today launched its Annual Report for 2023; one which points to a significant increase in demand for its youth mental health services and supports.
This demand, married with increased complexity, funding and staffing challenges, has resulted in Dr. Joseph Duffy, Jigsaw CEO, describing 2023 as the charity’s ‘most demanding year” since its establishment in 2006.
Report summary
The report outlines that throughout 2023, with the support of the HSE (Mental Health), philanthropy, corporate and public donations, Jigsaw spent over €17m in the delivery a range of mental health services and supports across Ireland.
The report also highlights that 2023 saw Jigsaw offer its highest number of in-person appointments to young people (45,376), whilst also receiving its highest ever number of referrals (8,952) in its 18-year history.
In addition, it points to positive strides in relation to wait times with the time between referral and first appointment dropping across almost all services.
Alongside direct therapeutic services, the report highlights that over 16,000 people attended mental health workshops and training courses and almost half a million people accessed online supports through jigsaw.ie.
The primary issues faced by young people who accessed Jigsaw’s services throughout 2023 included anxiety, low mood, low self-esteem and isolation. 62% of these young people (aged 17-25) reported experiencing moderate to severe distress levels at their first session, while among 12-16 year-olds, 64% reported experiencing distress within the clinical range at first session.