Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)

Conditions in scope include:

• Adjustment reactions
• Anxiety disorders
• Attachment disorders
• Children with significant mental health problems where there is co morbidity with mild/moderate disabilities or other disabilities
• Compulsive/obsessive compulsive disorder
• Conduct and oppositional defiant disorder
• Depression
• Developmental disorders with co-morbid mental health difficulties
• Dual diagnosis – including comorbid- drug and alcohol use
• Eating disorders
• Emotional and behavioural
• Hyperkinetic disorders (e.g. ADHD with additional mental health needs)
• Neuropsychiatric conditions
• Post-traumatic stress disorders
• Psychosis
• Self-harm
• Suicidal ideation

Guidance and information

If the child or young person is having difficulties both at home and school, they may have additional needs and could therefore benefit from multi-agency support. The best way to ensure that we have all the information required to support acceptance onto a multi-agency pathway will be by completing the Early Help Assessment on Right for Children with the family, and identifying additional services within the Plan and Review.

How can we help?

We offer the following specialist programmes of intervention:

• Assessment – including risk assessment
• A range of evidence based therapeutic interventions
• Consultation to professionals
• Group programmes for anxiety, depression, parenting, low self-esteem
• An effective pathway of care for children and young people with anorexia nervosa. We work closely with local paediatricians and dieticians to ensure safety. We also run Multi family therapy groups. This group sees up to 7 families at a time for 4 consecutive full days, with follow up days. This is an intensive therapy which was developed at the Maudsley Hospital and aims to reduce length of treatment overall
• JACAT – Journey After Child Abuse Trauma, specialist service for sexual abuse, all staff are trained in trauma focused ways of working
• SAC – Service Around the Child, working to support foster placements in collaboration with social work teams and experienced support workers
• An Assertive Outreach Team supporting young people in crisis at home and reducing the admission to specialist inpatient units. This team works in collaboration with the 3 locality services.

What happens next?

Once a request has been accepted we will offer the child or young person an initial assessment urgently (within 7 days) and less urgent we aim to assess within 6 weeks.

The assessment will inform our next intervention, sometimes one appointment is all that is needed but if further sessions are agreed, the child or young person will be assigned a clinician with the appropriate skills and we will work in partnership with the child or young person and their family to define, agree and work towards their goals.

Follow up appointments should be offered within 18 weeks of referral.