The transition from adolescence to adulthood is a stressful time that is linked with a rise in mental health challenges. This makes the transition from pediatric to adult mental health care critical for youth. However, this transition is often unsupported and disjointed for many young people in late adolescence and early adulthood (‘transitional-aged’ youth), as their eligibility for certain services changes depending on their age.

This factsheet outlines four considerations to support youth transitioning to adult mental health care, and was developed from “I fell through the cracks”: Navigating the disjointed transition from paediatric to adult psychiatric services (2022) by Brianna Jackson, Kimberley T. Jackson, and Richard Booth in Issues in Mental Health Nursing.