The number of children in Perth and Kinross accessing clinical psychology services increased of almost 1,000% over a five year period.
In 2015, there were 28 young people under the age of 18 accessing the service as outpatients. By last year, this figure rocketed to 291, according to figures from NHS Tayside.
There was also a rise in the number of children accessing child and adolescent psychiatry services in the same timeframe.
In 2015, 824 young people accessed the service, a figure which had increased to 1086 by 2019.
MSP for Perthshire North, John Swinney said: “These figures highlight the challenges our NHS faces as we all become more aware of mental health issues and the importance of seeking treatment when necessary.
“Accordingly, the Scottish Government has taken bold steps to address the increased pressure on our services.
“We have committed to spend £5bn over the life of the current Parliament to support mental health services, along with publishing a ten-year strategy to transform mental health services.”
A spokesperson for NHS Tayside said: “There has been an increase in public awareness of the services that the child and adolescent mental health services provide, which may have contributed to more people and professionals seeking specialist services for treatment for mental health issues.”
The number of adults from Perth and Kinross accessing mental health services as outpatients saw a similar increase.
General adult psychiatry patients from the area more than doubled in number from 1695 in 2015 to 3944 in 2019.
Similarly, clinical psychology patients rose from 1187 to 1729.
A spokesperson for Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership said: “There has been lots of work in recent years both locally and nationally to increase awareness and reduce the stigma around mental health.
“This has led to more people seeking help and support and being referred to our community mental health teams.”
A spokesperson for Dundee Health and Social Care Partnership, which manages the Psychological Therapies Service in Tayside gave some reasoning behind the increases.
They said: “There are many reasons why more people are seeking help with their mental health and wellbeing, such as the increasing demands that our society places on people, and more social isolation.”
Conservative MSP for the Mid Scotland and Fife region, Liz Smith said the figures highlighted a child mental health “crisis”.
She said: “We are facing a child mental health crisis in Scotland and these figures back that up.
“There needs to be a greater focus given to prevention and early intervention by having better support for all schools in Scotland.”
