Children's community services

Community child and adolescent mental health services work with children and young people up to the age of 18 and their families.

We work with children, young people and their families with complex mental health difficulties, in a range of different ways depending on their needs.

The type of difficulties dealt with by the teams may include:

• Complex emotional and behavioural problems
• Anxiety and depression and very rarely serious mental illness such as psychosis and eating disorders
• Family relationship issues and parenting
• Hyperactivity or poor concentration (ADHD, ASD)
• Challenging behaviour
• Eating, sleeping or toileting problems
• School refusal
• Children with mental health needs related to learning difficulties, physical illness or disability

Our psychologists, psychiatrists, and therapists provide assessment and treatment packages for children and young people and their families. Treatment may include cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), family therapy, play therapy, individual and group psychotherapy. Medication is also used when appropriate and carefully monitored by the doctors.

We provide consultation to other professionals, such as teachers, youth workers, social workers and other health professionals.

We work within schools and offer teachers support and training on spotting and dealing with mental health difficulties in children and young people.

We involve children and young people in the development of our services. They get involved with consultations, training, recruitment and undertake a variety of projects to ensure their voice is heard throughout the service.

Eligibility criteria and referrals

Referrals are accepted primarily from health services such as GPs and paediatrics. Some services also accept referrals from education or social services. Self-referrals are also considered by each team.

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