CAMHS stands for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.
CAMHS is the name for the NHS services that assess and treat young people with emotional, behavioural or mental health difficulties.
CAMHS support covers depression, problems with food and eating, self-harm, abuse, violence or anger, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and anxiety, among other difficulties.
There are local NHS CAMHS services around the UK, with teams made up of nurses, therapists, psychologists, child and adolescent psychiatrists (medical doctors specialising in mental health), support workers and social workers, as well as other professionals.
You might also see CYPMHS used which stands for Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services. This is a new term and it includes all the services that might be available to help you as well as CAMHS.
On this page, we will use the term CAMHS to refer to the NHS service that helps people like you, with emotional, behavioural or mental health difficulties.
The first step to getting help from CAMHS is usually that you will be referred for a CAMHS assessment. This referral can come from your parents/carers, a teacher, GP, or yourself if you are old enough (depending on where you live).
If you're being supported by social care, a youth offending team, or a service at your school, they might also be able to refer you.
It's important to tell the person referring you as much as you can so you can get the help you need.
Most local CAMHS teams have a website where you can look up how to get access to their service.
After you have been referred, you will be put on a waiting list for an initial appointment (often known as an ‘assessment’). This may sound scary, but it’s normally just a chat so the CAMHS team can get to know you a bit and see how they can help.
At this appointment, you will normally meet one or two members of the CAMHS team. If you’re under 16 years old, your parent(s) or carer(s) will usually be invited to join for part of this meeting.
This appointment will generally take place at a CAMHS clinic. But, in some circumstances, they may meet with you at your school or home. They will discuss with you the best place to meet before your appointment.
When you meet, the team will ask you questions to understand what you are struggling with and to get a better idea of what support you need.
Here are some common questions the CAMHS team may ask in an assessment:
At the end of the session, the team will talk to you about what happens next and what support they think you might need. You can also ask any questions you may have.
They may talk about your ‘treatment’ – this just means what you’ll do together to help you get better.
If you would feel more comfortable having a parent or carer in the room with you during your assessment, that’s fine. You can also see the team by yourself if you would prefer, though staff may expect a parent to be present for part of the meeting.
Also, if you or your parent/carer is not confident speaking English, CAMHS can provide an interpreter to help. Just let them know if this is the case.
Your CAMHS assessment is a great opportunity to ask any questions you have. Here are some questions you may want to think about asking in your CAMHS assessment:
It’s important at your CAMHS assessment to try and be as honest as possible, as this will help the team assessing you understand how to support you.
Here are some things that are helpful for you to tell them:
Going to CAMHS is a massive step and you should be so proud of yourself in acknowledging you need support.
Once your treatment starts, you can still ask questions to make sure you are comfortable with what's going on. Here are some questions you may want to consider asking:
If your treatment involves medication, here are some questions you may want to ask:
You will need to move from CAMHS to adult mental health services (AMHS) when you reach a certain age – this is usually 18 but can vary depending on where you live, with some areas requiring you to move services at 16. Your CAMHS worker should talk to you about this move three to six months before it’s due to happen.
Transition to adult services is a big change, so it's important to get as much information and support as you can from friends and family. First, your CAMHS case worker or care coordinator should help you arrange an appointment with AMHS and come along with you if you need support. If you don’t hear anything about this, don’t be afraid to ask.
You'll have an assessment with both CAMHS and adult services to decide what kind of help you can get from the NHS. You may not be eligible for the level of care adult services provide, but either way you’ll develop a plan for what happens next.
Make sure you also ask about non-NHS support like local youth counselling, charities or school programmes.
If you are eligible for adult services, your CAMHS worker should help you through the process of moving from one service to the other. The two services are quite different, so don’t worry about asking for as much help as you need to make the change smoother for you.
If you’re well enough to leave CAMHS without moving into adult services, your CAMHS worker, therapist or counsellor can help you make a plan so you know what to do if you ever need help again. This will include details of crisis teams and helplines you can contact whenever you feel in need of support.
I was convinced that moving to adult services was the end of the world. BUT here I am, two years down the line, and I can tell you that I survived and that it was okay.
Below are some questions you may want to ask about the transition from CAMHS to AMHS.
Understanding your rights helps you to be in charge of your own treatment. You should always:
Under the UN's on the Rights of the Child, your opinion must always be taken seriously when decisions are made about your treatment. Read more about your rights under the UN laws.
What information is shared and with whom may depend on your age, support needs and risk level.
If you are under 18, a mental health professional may have to disclose information to protect you from serious harm. This is only done in particular cases and depends on each person’s case.
If you feel you have been treated unfairly by a member of NHS staff, whether that's in CAMHS, in an inpatient ward or in your GP surgery, you are entitled to make a complaint. To make a complaint about treatment in the NHS, follow these steps:
If none of this works, you can write to your MP who can complain on your behalf.
Most CAMHS services work with the whole family to support a young person's health.
This might mean asking parents/carers to come along to assessment and treatment appointments, depending on your age and what level of involvement you want your parent(s)/carer(s) to have.
Parents and carers can also ask CAMHS staff questions at any point in the assessment or treatment. You or your parents may want to know:
If you need more advice on how to help your child with specific mental health conditions, or life events which might be negatively affecting their wellbeing, visit our parents guide to support A-Z.
