“Children and young people’s mental health has been declining throughout the past few decades with little being done to address this. The problems have not gone away but have only intensified under the more recent restrictions and lockdowns. The consensus is that children’s mental health is suffering and depression is increasing.” This is one of the conclusions drawn by UK-based Sarah Foster, a play and creative art therapist, in her report entitled The Impact on Mental Health of Children and Young People During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic, published in July 2021. Although the study is based on the UK situation, I believe that it has universal relevance. People’s lives and businesses have been disrupted by constant and unsettling changes and mandates. The scale and level of restrictive measures globally preventing families and people from leaving their homes for weeks, the physical distancing of people from each other and the periodic forced shutdown of indoor and outdoor activities have had devastating effects. Children and adults alike are feeling anxious, fragile and fragmented, disconnected from the workplace, colleagues, family, neighbours, peers, schools and education,...
