Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Trust
Help in crisis
Help in crisis

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)

Our Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) provides a comprehensive range of specialist emotional wellbeing and mental health services for all children and young people aged under 18 who are registered with a GP in Gloucestershire.

Everyone feels stressed, anxious, down or angry from time to time, but sometimes these feelings can be overwhelming and just won’t go away. Usually children and young people referred to us will be experiencing emotional wellbeing problems that significantly affect their ability to cope with normal stresses and demands of life.

We also work in partnership with families and professionals supporting young people with mental health needs, and have subcontracted partnership working with Teens in Crisis (TiC+).

CAMHS can be contacted on 01452 894300 (Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm)
What happens when a referral is made to CAMHS?

Referrals are screened, to make sure they are suitable and to identify urgent referrals. When a referral is accepted the family or young person will be invited to make a CHOICE appointment. Other professionals may also be invited to this appointment.

The CAMHS clinicians will ask about the difficulties and give children, young people and families/carers an opportunity to say what has been happening and what help they want. At the end of the discussion the CAMHS clinician will identify options to take forward. This may mean attending further appointments at CAMHS, or a referral to another service better suited to the circumstances.

Sometimes a one-off meeting is all that is needed.

Information for professionals: To refer to CAMHS services, click here

What happens if work with CAMHS continues?
If further appointments are agreed, a CAMHS clinician will work with the child or young person in partnership. A course of treatment will usually be for 7-10 sessions. Sometimes more sessions may be needed or less if difficulties reduce quickly. The CAMHS clinician will complete an assessment and together with the child or young person will agree a care plan which will show what work has been agreed and how often appointments will be.
What happens if patients are prescribed medication?
Sometimes a child or young person would benefit from taking medication. This will be discussed with the child or young person, their family/carers and an explanation given about how it will help. Medication is prescribed and reviewed by psychiatrists and specially trained nurses.
Confidentiality
All the information given in CAMHS appointments is confidential. Usually only theperson who made the referral and the GP will know about the appointments.

It can be helpful to share information, for example with schools or other health staff. The CAMHS clinician will discuss the information to be shared and ask children, young people and their families/carers for consent to share. Sometimes young people do not want to share their information with their parents/carers. This can be identified in the referral. The CAMHS clinician will discuss this with the young person to understand more about their circumstances and assess whether they are competent to make that decision for themselves.

If there are concerns that a child or young person may be at risk of harm, CAMHS will always share this information with the relevant agencies, though we would hope to inform the child or young person and their family/carers about the referral
and the reasons for this.

Locations for this service

Accessibility