"Society...has a choice whether or not to acknowledge the importance of the mental health of its children [and young people] and invest in it appropriately or not...if we are to change things, action is needed now".1 Recent years have seen an upsurge of interest among policymakers, researchers and practitioners - throughout the UK and elsewhere - in the growing number of young people aged under 25 who are developing mental health problems. The research evidence2 indicates that approximately one in five children and adolescents have mental ill health, a figure all the more disturbing in view of further evidence suggesting that the majority rarely reach specialist services.