My niece is 16, and lives in Scotland. She has had ongoing problems with school refusal and severe anxiety and has been under the care of CAMHS and various psychologists and professionals for a number of years. She has been out of school since she was 14. Her relationship with her mother is not great at all. Her mother also has anxiety problems and has been a single mother her whole life, with little (or not the right type of) support. She has also, under her own admission, made mistakes in bringing her daughter up, as all parents have at one time or another.
Things have been getting progressively worse. My niece and her mother are not communicating properly. My niece - who is still suffering from anxiety - does nothing all day. Gets up late, lazes around, won't take responsibility for herself or anything else, in spite of her mother's efforts and intentions to support her. My niece is so very angry all the time, to the extent of threatening to take her own life.
There is now a 17 year old boyfriend (he's been around for a year or so). My niece has gone seriously downhill since he came on the scene. She regularly shouts and swears at her mother, says she doesn't need her for anything but money and wants nothing to do with her. She doesn't come home when she says she will, regularly staying away for days. She has now moved out to live with the boyfriend. She has no money, no focus in life (job / study etc). She is still on medication for her anxiety, which she doesn't take regularly. She won't engage in any meaningful conversations with anyone. She's in such a vulnerable situation, but won't / can't see it at all.
Her mother is trying desperately to get professional support and/ or intervention, but it seems to be next to impossible due to her age. My questions are - has anyone else in Scotland gone through something similar? What options for support are there for a 16 year old with mental health issues? What interventions services are available? If she does live independently, what options are open to her in terms of government support?
Thanks in advance for any advice anyone can give.