My doctor is referring me to CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service), and I wondered if some people on here had been? I'm a bit nervous and would like some advice/hear others' experiences. Thanks

[Miss Laura]

Hey WelcomeToTheJungle...

I think Jess95 attends but I am not sure. Are you going to see a CPN? or Psychiatry?

Yeah I have been with my daughter, She is discharged now though. What do you want to know?

I'm not sure yet, Miss Laura. But I think for psychiatry.
If it's ok I would like to know past experiences with the service/what it is like there/how the staff are, stuff like that. Thank you

My daughter was only 11 at the time (now 13) she has issues with eating,withdrawing and other stuff that I can't say here.

The staff are brilliant I can't fault them at all, First session I think we spoke for about 2 hours accompanied by 1 of her teachers too. They ask a load of questions and yourself too and then will decide how often you should attend,My daughter attended every month but wouldn't talk to them much as she is so shy so they discharged her after 6 months.

She still haves problems now, They did say if I am still worried is to contact them again, If you're still at school they will probably have a meeting with your year tutor too to see if you're getting the help that you need (well they did with my daughter)

Good luck

Hiya, yeah I've been seeing them for almost a year now. They really are good, I see a CPN who is like, someone I see every week/ couple of weeks and you basically just talk about anything you want and get support, then I see a psychiatrist, every couple of months/ each month (depends) who we both see to fill him in, he basically decides what happens, and meds etc.
Your CPN will give you his/her mobile and email, so any time out of sessions (mon to fri 9-5) you can get in touch if you need to, then there's a duty worker if your CPN's not available so always support.
They really will give you the exact support you ned, they have so many different methods and stuff too, so will have a way thats suited to you (I tried art therapy where you do art while talking to make it easier to talk, then I tried writing etc). You'll get the help you need, it might take a bit of time to settle/ get used to it though.
Is there anything in particular you wanted to know? Pm me if you ever want to xx

[Tomjones]

Ah I remember this one. Stepdaughter was promised it.. Wonder if it would have benefitted her...

Originally Posted by Tomjones

Ah I remember this one. Stepdaughter was promised it.. Wonder if it would have benefitted her...

Why didn't you take her?

[crazylife]

I went for 3 years as a teenager, i found it useless. I saw a different person every week and they moaned at me when i wouldn't open up. I used to stare out the window for the hour but that's MY experience. I also recently found out after 3 years in 1 hour sessions a week they could not make and dx and were unclear. Good Luck.

Hi, i was under CAMHS from the ages of 15 to 19. To be honest i found them utterly useless. I had an art therapist for a year and then had one to one with a child psychiatry registrar who was on clinical rotation and so i might only have seen them for up to 6 months. So not only would they not be my doctor for very long but they would also have varying levels of experience. What annoyed me most is that they were very cagey about diagnosis and what they actually thought might help me. I either talked and talked cos they wouldn't say anything or id just sit there waiting for it to be over or asking to leave early. I do have BPD though which is tough to diagnose and is usually only done so in adults - its also quite tough to treat so its no wonder i didn't find them helpful. All i would say is go with an open mind and be very upfront about what is and is not working for you. Don't make their job easy and just go with the flow if you don't quite feel your progressing - ask questions, be honest and give it at least 3 to 6 months before you opt out. Good luck.