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Mental Health Resources for Children and Young People

Checked: 23-09-2023 by Next Review: 23-09-2025

Overview

There are several options for accessing support for children and young people with mental health problems. Some of these are provided nationally or across BNSSG and others may be more localised.

This page should help clinicians to signpost children and parents to support that is available and to help them identify when and where children can be referred if this is appropriate. However, we are aware that it is not always possible to list all local or voluntary organisations that can provide support.

In addition to this page please also consider the other pages on Remedy that may be useful for a child's specific needs:

Happymaps - an excellent website run by a charity that provides signposting to a large range of resources that are available to children and parents.
School Health Nurse - please see this page for details of support available via the school health nurse service including ChatHealth for 11-19 year olds.
ADHD
Austism (ASD)
Drug and Alcohol problems
Support for victims of sexual assault/ abuse
Safeguarding
CAMHS - for children with more severe mental health problems.

Mental health directories for children and young people are available on the ICB website (links can be sent to patients), featuring details of a range of services from positive activities through to CAMHS.

There is a directory for each area:

Mild to Moderate Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties

By mild we mean some difficulties in home and school but good evidence of protective factors such as relationships hobbies, interests and engagement with activities that are considered normal for age and stage of development.

By moderate we mean, having an impact on a young person’s day to day life and if left untreated are likely to become more severe but no first line intervention has yet taken place

When young people are describing some mild or moderate difficulties in the first instance the following should be recommended:

School Based Intervention

Counselling / art therapy / play therapy / specific interventions

School Health Nurse

Recommend that Schools access consultation from their link CAMHS Primary Mental Health Specialists (not available for GP referral)

Other first line Interventions

Kooth is a BNSSG wide free and anonymous online support and counselling service for children and young adults aged 11-19 years.

Off the Record is a face to face counselling and support organisation for children and young adults aged 11- 25 years in Bristol and South Gloucestershire, and 11-18 in North Somerset.

Creative Youth Network provide support for young people

Specialist counselling eg Greenhouse/ Winston’s Wish (these organisations often have waiting lists)

Parent support

Bristol

See Parenting Courses provided by Bristol City Council for parents of children aged 2-18.

The Guide to Children and Young Peoples Emotional Health Services also gives information on local and national services, including support for parents. It has information on Bristol based and national resources.

North Somerset

See Family Wellbeing Team Advanced Parenting Groups by North Somerset council.

South Gloucestershire

See Support with parenting courses by South Gloucestershire Council

Early Help Family Support run by Caring for Communities and People offer family support and positive parenting groups.

Other useful resources / services

HappyMaps is a locally developed website for parents and professionals and can be particularly helpful when children don't meet the CAMHS threshold for referral.

The BNSSG ICB website (see links in the overview section above) has an online directory with comprehensive local and national services and resources. This is for use by children and young people, their families as well as a wide range of professionals

"Where to get help" is an additional useful directory for children, young people and their families in Bristol.

Advice from CAMHS

Bristol & South Gloucestershire

If you are unsure if a young person requires CAMHS or would like advice on signposting options please contact awp.camhsgettingadvice@nhs.net

This email is checked daily (Mon - Fri) but there can at times be a delay in response depending on volume of emails. As such, this is for queries around routine CAMHS referrals only and referrals / urgent mental health advice will not be processed in this way.

North Somerset

GPs and School health nurses can still contact our Clinician Advisor of the Day (CAD) by calling 01934 881262 between the hours of 13.00 and 16.30 Monday-Friday to access consultation about children and young people in North Somerset and to help decide whether a referral should be made.

The CAD worker is an experienced clinician who works within the North Somerset CAMHS team.

Prescribing Advice

CAMHS Psychiatrists are only able to provide medication advice for:

SSRIs (they are unable to give prescribing advice for melatonin, propranolol etc)
16 year olds and over - complete an Community Paediatrics Single Point of Entry referral form. If referral meets criteria a Medication Consultation with Psychiatrist may be facilitated.
For people 17.5 years who do not want/consent to a CAMHS involvement but want medication, Psychiatry will offer a 1 off consultation. Please only contact the relevant team directly (below) in this instance:

East and Central: 0117 340 8600

North Bristol: 0117 354 6800

South Bristol: 0117 9190330

South Glos: 01454 862431

North Somerset: 0300 125 6700

Or send your request to the CAMHS Getting Advice Team who will forward it for Psychiatrist advice.

Awp.camhsgettingadvice@nhs.net

Resources

South Glos CYP MH Quick Guide

Mental Health & Wellbeing Support - CYP in South Gloucestershire (Digital)

Mental Health & Wellbeing Support - CYP in South Gloucestershire (Print version)

Mental Health Support for Young People in North Somerset

Efforts are made to ensure the accuracy and agreement of these guidelines, including any content uploaded, referred to or linked to from the system. However, BNSSG ICB cannot guarantee this. This guidance does not override the individual responsibility of healthcare professionals to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual patient, in consultation with the patient and/or guardian or carer, in accordance with the mental capacity act, and informed by the summary of product characteristics of any drugs they are considering. Practitioners are required to perform their duties in accordance with the law and their regulators and nothing in this guidance should be interpreted in a way that would be inconsistent with compliance with those duties.

Information provided through Remedy is continually updated so please be aware any printed copies may quickly become out of date.