Canterbury's young people have reached out for mental health help around 35,000 times over the course of 2015.

According to data from the Ministry of Health, that's around 14,000 more than in 2011 and 2000 more than in 2014.

The Ministry's director of mental health, Dr John Crawshaw, said demand for services can vary significantly year to year, and it's likely in this case the earthquakes and challenges people have faced are likely to be factors.

He said before the quakes, demand for mental health services were below the national average, so there has been a steep increase.

Dr Crawshaw said extra funding has been allocated in recent years, with the Canterbury DHB budget now at $1.4 billion - up $331 million in the past eight years.

He said the $20 million funding package given in march for the DHB has a strong focus on boosting capacity in the child and adolescent mental health service.