Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHS)

COVID-19 service update: appointments, therapy and regular contact are taking place via video and phone, and face-to-face appointments when required.

The Gateway service is now available for support via a number of online platforms, and face-to-face when required.

Inpatient services operating as normal. Information for visitors to inpatient wards/units.

CAMHS offers assessment and treatment to children and young people aged up the age of 18 (and their families/carers) who are suffering significant mental difficulties. We provide these services across Dorset (including Bournemouth and Poole), employing an experienced team of doctors, nurses, occupational therapists, psychologists and social workers.

We deal with a range of serious mental health problems, including:

  • psychosis/schizophrenia
  • significant self-harm and risk-taking behaviours
  • depression and severe anxiety disorders
  • eating problems
  • obsessive compulsive disorders
  • complex and/or significant post-traumatic disorders
  • severe behavioural difficulties
  • mental health or severe emotional difficulties in children with a diagnosis of autism.

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.

Further information about our services, along with referral forms for professionals, can be found at https://camhsdorset.org/

Where to access the service:

Pebble Lodge Adolescent
Inpatient Service

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.

Forensic CAMHS (FCAMHS)

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:

Referrals are made through CAMHS or other professionals only.

Locations

Child And Adolescent Mental Health Services (Bournemouth - Pebble Lodge, Inpatient Ward)

01202 545400
N/A
Pebble Lodge,
49 Alumhurst Road,
Bournemouth,
BH4 8EP

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WiFi: No

Parking: Yes, limited

Disabled Access: No

Opening Times: 24/7

Child And Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) gateway

Seastone House,
49 Alumhurst Road,
Westbourne,
Bournemouth,
BH4 8EP

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WiFi: No

Parking: Yes, limited

Disabled Access: Yes

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Blandford Community Hospital)

01258 394149
N/A
Milldown Road,
Blandford,
DT11 7DD

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WiFi: Yes

Parking: Yes

Disabled Access: Yes

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (North Dorset)

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Bournemouth - Boscombe, Shelley Road)

01202 646300
N/A
22 Tower Road,
Shelley Clinic,
Boscombe,
Bournemouth,
BH1 4LB

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WiFi: No

Parking: No

Disabled Access: No

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Bournemouth & Christchurch)

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (East Dorset - Canford Heath, Delphwood)

01202 605882
N/A
Ashdown Close,
Canford Heath,
Poole,
BH17 8WG

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WiFi: No

Parking: Yes

Disabled Access: Yes

Opening Times: Monday to Friday from 08.30 to 17.00 (by appointment only)

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (East Dorset)

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Poole - Poole Community Health Clinic)

01202 584600
N/A
Shaftesbury Road,
Poole,
Dorset,
BH15 2NT

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WiFi: Yes

Parking: Yes

Disabled Access: Yes

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Poole)

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (West Dorset - Dorchester)

01305 255705
N/A
The Children's Centre,
Damer's Road,
Dorchester,
DT1 2LB

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WiFi: No

Parking: Yes

Disabled Access: Yes

Opening Times: Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 17:00

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Weymouth and Portland)

01305 762810
N/A
Weymouth Community Hospital,
Melcombe Avenue,
Weymouth,
DT4 7TB

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WiFi: Yes

Parking: Yes

Disabled Access: Yes

Mental Health and learning disabilities