Getting support from CAMHS

CAMHS is a free NHS service that helps children and young people with a wide range of problems, including anxiety, grief, anger management, eating disorders, depression and self-harm. 

Your child may be referred to CAMHS if their mental health is significantly affecting their day-to-day life. They may also be referred if they have a learning disability or are thought to be neurodivergent (for example, if they are autistic or have ADHD or Tourette’s Syndrome). 

Lots of different types of mental health professionals work for CAMHS, including nurses, therapists, counsellors, psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers. If your child is referred to CAMHS, the team there will work out what kind of support will work best. This could include:

• helping your child develop strategies to manage their mental health themselves
• sessions talking with a therapist
• creative therapy using art, music or drama
• medication
• treatment and support in hospital.

The team should always talk things through with your child, to make sure they feel comfortable with the support or treatment they’re offered. They should also talk to you about your child’s mental health and their treatment.

To access CAMHS, your child will usually need a referral from their doctor, school or another professional who’s supporting them. However, some services allow young people to refer themselves if they’re above a certain age, and some allow parents to refer their children.

If you think your child should be referred to CAHMS you ask your GP or your child’s school. They can talk you through all the different kinds of support available to your child and make a referral if necessary.

You and your child may find the idea of appointments and assessments with CAMHS daunting and that’s perfectly understandable. But remember, these services are there to make things better for you. 

It can really help if you and your child know what to expect and what you can do to prepare – these guides from YoungMinds have lots of information to help.

The YoungMinds guide to CAMHS for young people looks at:

• how your child can prepare for their first appointment
• what happens when they start treatment
• what to do if they’re turned down for treatment or aren’t happy with the way things are going
• leaving CAMHS or moving to adult mental health services (AMHS).

The YoungMinds guide to CAMHS for parents looks at:

• how the process works
• how to prepare for your child’s assessment
• how you can support your child
• what to do if you’re not happy with the support offered.

Childline also have a helpful page about CAMHS and Contact, the charity for families of disabled children have information about CAMHS in Scotland.

The following pages on Parent Club have more tips for supporting your child or teen to manage their mental health:

• Supporting your child’s mental health
• How to help children deal with worries
• Supporting your teen’s mental health
• Eating disorders
• Helping teens with anxiety
• Helping neurodivergent teens with anxiety
• Supporting teens with low mood and depression
• Coping with self-harm
• Supporting teens with suicidal thoughts

The organisations listed here all offer further support to young people. Your GP can also direct you and your child to resources to help, including websites, apps and support groups in your local area. You can also check your local health board’s CAMHS website (see above) to find out what support they offer while your child is waiting.

CAMHS is there to help children whose mental health is having a significant impact on their day-to-day life. If CAMHS doesn’t offer support for your child, you can ask them to explain why, and to put this in writing. They should suggest other ways you can help your child to improve their mental health and give you details of other organisations in your area that can help.