This is Children's Mental Health Week | East London NHS Foundation Trust

Children and Young Peoples's Mental Health Week takes place from 6 - 12 February 2023.

The theme this year is #Let's Connect.

Each day we will be focusing on a specific theme and this page will include links to information about CAMHS mental health crisis support, how our referral process works, online resources that are available, as well as information about mentorship schemes, Mental Health in Schools' Teams, a new online resource for young people experiencing disordered eating, and information about how to work for CAMHS and how young people who are engaged with our CAMHS service can get involved with People Participation team with volunteer roles.

A message from Dr Cathy Lavelle, Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist, Clinical Director, ELFT Children's Services

'Please help to support Children & Young People's Mental Health Week by retweeting and reposting any social media messages you see with the hashtag #Let'sConnect this week.

'It is so important that we make sure our children, young people and their families know that there is help available if they are struggling with mental health.

'The sooner someone reaches out the more likely interventions can be made to provide effective help that can change and improve a situation.

'There is a range of really good resources that are available online for children and young people who are experiencing emotional upset, anxiety or depression.

'Accessing these and following the professional advice can help ensure that a problem now does not become a crisis later on.'

Making a Referral

ELFT's CAMHS services operate in all our boroughs. Young people, family members and adult carers, including teachers and social workers, can make a referral. GPs and other health professionals can use the Professional referral forms. Services aim to respond to all referrals as soon as possible.

North & South Bedfordshire

Urgent Mental Health Crisis Care for Children & Young People

A CAMHS professional is available at some hospital A&E departments at specific times. You can also access 24 hour crisis care via a freephone telephone service.

CAMHS Crisis Care Information for East London, Luton & Bedfordshire.

Online Resources, Help & Information

Kooth offers emotional and mental health support for children and young people aged between 11 and 24. On Kooth, qualified counsellors are online seven days a week to provide young people using the service with online counselling, through chat-based messaging via drop-in or booked sessions.

Kooth

Shout is the UK's first and only free, confidential, 24/7 text messaging support service for anyone who is struggling to cope.

Shout 85258

Place2Be works to highlight the importance of children and young people’s mental health. Their website hosts a range of useful resources for young people, parents and carers.

Place2Be

Bedfordshire, Luton & Milton Keynes Health & Care Partnership have a collection of resources online.

North East London Health & Care Partnership resources for children & young people's mental health.

In December 2022, the UK Trauma Council (UKTC) published a series of free childhood trauma and PTSD resources - four animated videos and a set of seven training videos for mental health professionals on delivering the best-evidenced treatment for childhood PTSD. The resources aim to improve understanding of PTSD for young people, parents, carers and professionals.

The animations explain – through accessible and relatable scenarios - how it can be normal for young people to feel overwhelmed in the weeks following experiences in which they feel very frightened for their safety or the safety of someone else. But if these feelings continue and make life very hard, it might be PTSD. They also outline the steps that young people can take to cope with very difficult memories of traumatic experiences, and how to reach out for professional support and what to expect from trauma-focused CBT.

The seven videos for mental health professionals are designed to supplement professional training and expertise in delivering cognitive therapy for PTSD. They provide additional support around key aspects of the intervention, such as developing a timeline, doing reliving work, building a narrative, and updating trauma memories.

This work has been funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs), with contributions from ARC West, ARC South West Peninsula (PenARC), ARC North East & North Cumbria (ARC NENC), and ARC North Thames.

Every child or young person is an individual and their experience of self-harm is going to be unique. It’s important that we consider language that we use when talking about self-harm.

Resources produced or sourced by Newham's Mental Health School's Team:

Download:

Guide to Initiating Conversations around Self-harm here.

Mindfulness Safe Place guided imagery

Mindfulness - leaves on a stream

Distress Tolerance using DBT

Powering on with mindfulness

Managing Self-harm brochure

Managing Self-harm: Guidance for schools incl. toolkit

ELFT CAMHS page on Self-harm