CAMHS (Child and adolescent mental health services)

Children and young people

If you are a young person and are concerned about your mental health, talking to someone who knows you – such as your parents, carers or a teacher – is a good place to start. Together, you can then contact a GP, school nurse or social worker, who can advise on the sort of help you might need. If appropriate, they will arrange an appointment for you with CAMHS.

The first appointment with CAMHS will last about an hour. We will want to get know you and your family, understand your problems and work out ways of dealing with them. Various approaches may be suggested, such as one-to-one therapy, family therapy, individual work with a parent and sometimes medication. The aim is to tailor a package of care appropriate to your needs.

If you are aged 16 to 18 and are registered with a GP, you can refer yourself to CAMHS without needing to go through your GP or other health/social care professional.

Parents and carers

If you are a parent/carer of a young person and you have concerns about their mental health and emotional wellbeing, you can speak to a range of professionals. These include: GPs, teachers, school nurses, primary mental health workers, social workers, educational welfare officers, behavioural support workers and educational psychologists, as well as paediatrics and adult mental health staff.

If they agree that your child needs to be referred to CAMHS, they will make the necessary arrangements.

For further information about our services, along with referral forms for professionals, visit the CAMHS website.

Pebble Lodge is a specialist psychiatric unit in Alumhurst Road, Bournemouth. It provides 24-hour assessment, treatment and care for children and young people with severe mental health problems and who pose a risk to themselves, others or their environment.

The unit has a homely atmosphere, designed to help young people recover in safe, secure surroundings and support their families/carers at the same time. All our care is tailored to each person’s specific needs and can include individual therapy, group therapy and family therapy, as well as education.

We treat young people from across Dorset, dealing with illnesses such as psychosis, personality disorders, phobias, depression, anxieties, obsessive compulsive disorders, post traumatic stress, self-harm, and Tourette’s Syndrome.

Pebble Lodge is staffed by friendly, skilled professionals, including a consultant psychiatrist, mental health nurses, mental health support workers, psychologists, and occupational therapists. They are all dedicated to ensuring young people return to their families/carers as quickly and smoothly as possible.

Referrals to Pebble Lodge are made through the community-based CAMHS teams.

This is a specialist service aiming to assist professionals working with under-18s who may have neuro-developmental and/or mental health concerns and who present with high risk of harm to others, to include but not limited to:

• violence (including adolescent to parent violence)
• fire-setting
• stalking
• internet offending
• animal cruelty
• damage to property
• terrorism/concerns about radicalisation.

Referrals are made through CAMHS or other professionals only.

FCAMHS is not available all week. If it’s an emergency and someone’s life is at risk, dial 999. If it’s not an emergency but you need help fast, dial NHS 111.

Alternatively, please contact your GP or Connection, a Dorset-wide 24/7 NHS mental health support helpline for all ages, on 0800 6520190 or Shout, a national 24/7 mental health text message service, free on most networks, on 85258.

The service works with children with a diagnosis of a learning disability who, in educational terms, have severe or moderate learning difficulties. And, in addition, present with:

• significant aggression/challenging behaviours putting the child or others at risk
• mental illness or significant mental health problem.

We provide advice, support and training for children and young people’s families. We also work with carers, school staff, social workers and other professionals involved in their care.

If a young person meets our referral criteria, a professional (such as a teacher, health visitor, GB or social worker) can make a referral to our service. Referrals will undergo screening to ensure the child/young person has been referred to the correct service and each referral will be prioritised according to urgency of assessment and treatment and allocated to team member accordingly. Parental consent must be sought before a referral can be processed.

To request a referral form, please contact us at: dhc.referralsid-camhs.pandorset@nhs.

This is an intensive home treatment service that supports children and young people with acute mental health problems in their own homes across Dorset.

We specialise in supporting young people who:

• repeatedly harm themselves and/or make suicidal gestures; and may also experience rapid or exaggerated changes in mood, and distress in relationships
• have complex eating disorders, especially anorexia nervosa, and require intensive treatment
• are currently in Tier 4 mental health services who could be discharged or moved closer to home if increased support was available.

The service operates 365 days a year from 8am-8pm, and the teams work together to deliver a specialist service to help young people remain at home who otherwise would have been admitted to an inpatient hospital.