Norman Swan

Great.

Thanks very much.

Professor Louisa Jorm is at the University of New South Wales.

So our next story, Priya, is about a difficult topic, but a really important one.

It's about self-harm in children and adolescents.

Or indeed parents.

Hi, Sydney.

Let's just sort of get the baseline right.

What are the statistics showing about self-harm in children and adolescents?

And just to clarify, when we talk about children and adolescents, I mean,

My understanding is that depression doesn't really kick in until about after the age of 10.

It's mostly anxiety in younger children and depression kicks in after that.

Are we really talking about young children?

And is it like adults where depression is part of the story but only part?

Okay, so you've got this guideline, which is supposed to be a guideline to, if you like, a Bible for clinicians, whether it be psychologists, GPs, psychiatrists, child psychiatrists, and so on, to follow, and also information for parents so they know the kind of right questions to ask and what the care pathway might be.

But I want to challenge you, Sydney.

The title says evidence-based.

And I've been through it.

It's not evidence-based at all.

There's a handful of all the recommendations you're making.