Dr. Gillian O'Brien:

I will speak to the issue of the GPs. It may seem that our rate of referrals from GPs is quite low at approximately 10%.

Our preference would be to encourage young people to self-refer to Jigsaw. What tends to happen is that the GP, after the consultation with the young person, simply tells the young person to make direct contact but that if he or she likes, he or she may be referred by the GP. The GP will say that, to make direct contact, the young person can lift the phone or send an email.

With regard to the interventions that are most successful in reducing anxiety and promoting resilience-building, there is a good evidence base indicating talking therapies have a lot to contribute. The nature of the therapeutic relationship is also very important. There is a lot of evidence but ultimately we need to help young people to develop an understanding of their emotional awareness, learn to regulate emotions and understand how, when they feel very anxious or distressed, they can soothe themselves and manage that. Not only do we need to support and educate young people, but we also need to support and educate parents and others around the young people, such as significant adults or "one good adult" in the community. Referred to already was peer-to-peer information-sharing and support. We have found this to be very valuable. We train many young people in second level schools in evidence-based programs so they can impart information to their peers on how to recognise signs of anxiety and what can be done about it.