Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHS)
What is CAMHS?
CAMHS is the name for the services that assess and treat young people with emotional, behavioural or mental health needs. The support covers a wide range of conditions and needs.
CAMHS is a safe place where we can work together to try and understand what it is happening with you, and how to help you make the most of your adolescence.
All CAMHS clinicians have had specialist training in assessment, formulation and intervention. This means they can work with children, young people and their families who present with mental health difficulties.
We work as a team and with you involved, we can work out the best way to help you to feel better.
Your first appointment
When you come to your first CAMHS appointment you may feel nervous about meeting new people and talking about any difficulties and it's common for people to feel this way at their first appointment. We will do our best to make you feel comfortable, to move at a pace that suits you and to answer any questions you may have.
During your first appointment we may ask you about your family history and background, how long you have had been having difficulties, as well as information about your strengths and the things you enjoy. We may ask you to fill in some questionnaires. The information you provide will help us to think about which service will be best placed to meet your needs.
Most young people find that talking and trying out different solutions to their problems helps them. Some young people also need medication. Coming to CAMHS does not mean you're 'mental', 'strange' or different'. In fact, 1 in 10 young people has a diagnosable mental health disorder and 1 in 4 people overall in the UK struggles with poor mental health.
Who works at CAMHS?
In our community CAMHS services we have Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists, Clinical and Counselling Psychologists, Systemic Family Therapists, Child and Adolescent Psychotherapists, and Clinical Nurse Specialists. Many of our clinical staff have additional training in therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy.
Across our school services, we have Psychologists, Education or Child Wellbeing Practitioners and some Allied Health Professionals including Occupational Therapists and Art Therapists.
Across our inpatient units we have CAMHS clinicians such as Mental Health Nurses, Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Family Therapists as well as Dieticians and Allied Health Professionals such as Occupational Therapists and Art Therapists.
Join the team
Want to join one of our CAMHS teams? View our vacancies across the Trust and get in touch if you would like to discuss a vacancy within our services and see what the Trust can offer you.