BDCT / Services / Child and Adolescent Mental Health service (CAMHS)

Child and Adolescent Mental Health service (CAMHS)

Description

Our Child and Adolescent Mental Health service (CAMHS) help children and young people in the local area who may be having problems. They may be very upset or very angry, they may be behaving in unusual ways, or their family or carers, friends or teachers may be very worried about them. CAMHS supports children and young people from pre-school years up to 16 years of age, (or up to 18 years of age if still in school) where there are severe and long standing concerns about emotional well-being and behaviours.

Bradford and Keighley CAMHS Covid-19

We are still open. In response to the coronavirus pandemic, some changes have been made to the way we deliver our services. Some of our services have been replaced with telephone or video calls. We are still offering face to face when needed. You may notice staff are wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). This typically includes a face mask, goggles, and scrubs/uniform. Depending on the appointment type, staff may also have gloves and aprons on. The staff member may ask that if you have travelled by car, you wait in the car. This is to reduce the amount of people in the waiting room. We also have social distancing in place and you may find that rooms have seating arrangements. Staff may also open a window to let fresh air circulate. All our teams are still offering support, so please contact us if you need us on 01274 723 241 (Bradford) or 01535 661 531  (Keighley).

Opening hours

Our CAMHS offices are open Monday to Friday, 9.00am – 5.00pm.

How can you access this service?

Referrals to CAMHS are accepted from a variety of health professionals including GPs and hospital doctors (if urgent assessment required) as well as from school nurses and health visitors. The specialist CAMHS referral form is available here.

If you think it would help to talk to somebody at CAMHS, you (or your parent or the person who looks after you) will need to speak to someone like your doctor or your school nurse. They will then tell you what you need to do and what happens next.

Where can I see someone from CAMHS?

We have two main sites:

  • Fieldhead in Bradford. Telephone: 01274 723 241
  • Hillbrook in Keighley. Telephone: 01535 661 531

Even though our friendly staff are based here, if you need to come to CAMHS you don’t always have to come to these two places. If you would prefer, we can try and arrange to come to you, either at school or at your local health centre for example.

Services we offer

View the services we offer here.

James’ story

 

Zoe’s Story

Our teams are based at two main sites which are:

Information for Children and Young people

As a young person, you may notice lots of changes as you grow up. While many of these changes can be fun and exciting, you might find some strange, confusing or maybe even scary too.

We understand that the way you feel, behave or think can sometimes be very worrying. That’s why we have specially trained staff who will spend time with you to help you feel better. We can also work with your family, or those that care for you, to give them advice and support and help them understand how you might be feeling.

This service is known as our Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, but because that’s a bit of a mouthful, we call it CAMHS.

There’s so much stuff to tell you about CAMHS we’ve broken it up into little sections to make it easier to understand.

What is mental health?

Mental health is to do with how we all feel, behave and think. Sometimes we feel happy and smiley, but other times we might feel sad, upset, angry or scared.

Not many people talk about mental health problems so don’t be surprised if this is the first time you’ve heard of them. But if we’re honest, they’re actually quite common.

Mental health problems are ok every now and again, but if they happen a lot of the time and if you feel like you are finding it hard to cope, you might need some help to make your mental health better.

What do CAMHS do?

CAMHS helps young people in a number of ways. We will talk with you (and usually with your parents or carers as well). We will ask questions about your worries and how you would like things to be different. We will ask about your family and how things are at home or at school. We will then think together with you about how we can help.

We help young people who may be:

  • feeling very sad
  • finding themselves getting very angry all the time
  • having strange or scary thoughts
  • feeling very unhappy about the way they look
  • wanting to change something about their behaviour

Can CAMHS help me?

If you are worried about your thoughts or feelings, or how you are behaving, don’t be afraid to tell somebody. You might want to talk to your mum and dad, or your carer, teacher or doctor for example. They might suggest you speak to somebody at CAMHS to try and get to the bottom of how you feel.

At CAMHS we will work together with you to try and make a difference. If it doesn’t help, then we will think with you or your parents or carers about what to do next.

Will you tell anyone why I’m going to CAMHS?

Whenever somebody gets help from a doctor, even if it’s just for a cold, the fact that you have been, and what you and your doctor discuss, is kept private. This is the same here at CAMHS.

When you first come to see someone at CAMHS you will be asked who you do and do not want to be told things about your time at our service. What you tell your CAMHS worker is private and won’t be shared with anyone else unless they are worried about your safety or someone else’s safety.

Keeping information private between you and your CAMHS worker is also known as ‘confidentiality’. Ask your CAMHS worker about our confidentiality rules if you want to know more.

You can read this flyer here created by CAMHS service users about confidentiality.

Where can I get more information?

If you would like to find out more about CAMHS, please speak to your doctor or your school nurse. They should be able to help you at first and will probably tell you if they think CAMHS is right for you.

You can also find out more information by reading this leaflet called CAMHS Inside Out which was made by young people who have been to CAMHS before.

Information for Parents and Carers

As a parent or carer of a young child or adolescent, you may have serious concerns about their emotional well-being and behaviours.

Our specially trained staff at CAMHS (child and adolescent mental health service) will work with you and your child to tackle your concerns. As all families or young people are different, our response will depend on your particular needs. We work in a variety of ways including family work, individual counselling, parent counselling, group therapy and play therapy.

We offer a wide range of services to help children and young people overcome problems such as:

  • Depression
  • Eating disorder
  • School refusal
  • Substance misuse
  • Developmental difficulties
  • Psychotic illness
  • Obsessive compulsive disorder
  • Attachment difficulties

Here you will find a list of local and national services you may find helpful:

Bradford Family Action The charity has been a leading provider of services to disadvantaged and socially isolated families since its foundation in 1869. We work with over 45,000 children and families a year by providing practical, emotional and financial support through over 100 services based in communities across England.

Bradford Parent and Young People’s Partnership – Barnardo’s – Whatever the issue from drug misuse to disability; youth crime to mental health; sexual abuse to domestic violence; child poverty to homelessness; Barnardo’s believes they can bring out the best in every child.

Café West – Cafe West healthy living centre offers a range of services and facilities which aim to improve the health and well being of local people. Based in Allerton, we serve the many communities of West Bradford with a community cafe, physical activity programme, advice and support services, complementary therapies, parental support, art for health and learning opportunities.

Connexions Bradford at Culture Fusion A one stop information and advice centre for young people at Culture Fusion, Thornton Road, Bradford.

  • Tel: 01274 307228

MESMAC This is the website of a group of sexual health, support and information projects working with Gay and Bisexual men. This website contains imagery, language and resources appropriate to this work.

National Parent Partnership Network – Information, Advice and Support services are statutory services offering information advice and support to parents and carers of children and young people with special educational needs (SEN). PPS are also able to put parents in touch with other local and national organisations.

Off the Record – Off The Record is the working name of Bradford Counselling Services Ltd. It is also a registered charity.

Relate Bradford – offers advice, relationship counselling, sex therapy, workshops, consultations and support face-to-face and by phone.

Relate Keighley Relate have always believed that stable and loving family relationships play a key role in helping adults and children feel secure, safe, confident and optimistic about the future. That’s why, at the heart of all their activity is a continuing commitment to helping couples maintain and improve their long-term relationships.

Roshni Ghar Roshni Ghar is a community development mental health organisation providing culturally appropriate and responsive support services for South Asian women who live in the Keighley area and are experiencing mental health issues.

Sharing Voices Bradford – is a Community Development Mental Health Organisation and became operational in August 2002. Sharing Voices primarily works within the inner city areas of Bradford comprising over 50% of Black Minority Ethnic Communities.

National Links:

Action for Children – Action for Children supports and speaks out for the UK’s most vulnerable, disadvantaged and neglected children and young people, for as long as it takes.

Childline – ChildLine is a counselling service for children and young people. If you are an adult and are worried about a child, please contact the NSPCC Helpline.  For other information please see our Frequently asked questions page.

Connexions Direct – A one stop information and advice centre for young people related to employment.

Get Connected – Free confidential helpline for all young people under 25.

Mind – Mind helps people take control of their mental health. They do this by providing high-quality information and advice, and campaigning to promote and protect good mental health for everyone.

Online safety for children.

Self Harm – A recovery, advice and support website dedicated to helping young people who self harm.

Stress Free Kids – Helping children, teens and adults decress stress, anxiety and anger.

Talk to Frank – An organisation dedicated to raising awareness of drug problems and providing information on drugs to those looking for answers.

The Hide Out – Women’s Aid have created this web space to help children and young people understand domestic abuse, and how to take positive action if it’s happening to you.

The Mental Health Foundation – The Mental Health Foundation is the UK’s leading mental health research, policy and service improvement charity.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists – An organisation dedicated to improving the lives of people affected by mental illness.

  • Understanding Childhood – Understanding Childhood provides downloadable information leaflets for families and childcare professionals to help raise emotionally secure children.

Youth Information – The National Youth Agency are an independent charity and the partner of choice for government, local authorities, businesses and the third sector, delivering with them, and advising and supporting them in the development of programmes and policies for young people.

Young Minds – Young Minds is a charity committed to improving the emotional wellbeing and mental health of children and young people and empowering their parents and carers.

Kooth service  – Kooth.com is a free, safe and anonymous online counselling and support service for 11-18 year olds in Bradford and Craven. Young people can access professional counsellors until 10pm every night, self-help articles 24/7 and connect with peers through live moderated forums three evenings a week.  Kooth.com helps you explore your emotional wellbeing | accessing the right help at the right time.

What should I do in an emergency?

If the situation is life threatening go to your nearest accident and emergency hospital or call 999. A&E and 999 services are for emergency and life-threatening conditions only.

If you are ever concerned for your well-being or that of someone you care for please call specialist CAMHS and ask to speak with the key worker or duty worker.

If you think you are experiencing a crisis, or have concerns out of hours, you can call 01274 221181.

Where possible the person who is experiencing the crisis should contact First Response, but we understand that this is not always possible and accept calls from others, concerned about a person’s well-being.

First Response tele-coaches work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to help people of all ages experiencing distress and can put you in contact with a consultant psychiatrist for advice.

Autism leaflet

Primary Mental Health Workers information leaflet August 2019 

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