The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) provides outpatient assessments, support and treatment for children and young people up to the age of 18 experiencing moderate to severe mental health problems. The service works to provide them with a greater knowledge of their condition and improve coping techniques.
We provide help to children and to the wider family, including those with living with foster parents, adopted children and young people living in children’s homes. The service may see children and adolescents on their own, with their parents or with their family, and may also see parents on their own.
Children, adolescents and their families referred to the service may be experiencing different kinds of problems. These may include:
- Eating difficulties
- Emotional feelings such as those of unhappiness, loneliness
- Fears and anxieties
- Parents having problems managing their children or feeling that their own difficulties are affecting their children
- Relationship problems
- Traumatic experiences
The service is also available to help children, adolescents and their families with mental health issues related to physical or learning disabilities.
The service consists of a multi-disciplinary team which offers a range of expertise including:
- Art Psychotherapists
- Child & Adolescent Psychiatrists
- Clinical Psychologists
- Nurse Specialists
- Psychotherapists
- Social Workers
- Family Psychotherapist
- Other Child & Adolescent Clinicians
Self Referrals are not accepted. Referrals are accepted from: GP, Health Professional, Social Worker, Teacher or Youth Worker.
The Community Eating Disorder Service (CEDS):
The Community Eating Disorder service (CEDS) is a single dedicated team developed within tier 3 CAMHS across Luton CCG and Bedfordshire CCG and includes a range of CAMHS professionals. The team leads on the direct delivery of interventions for children and young people presenting with moderate and severe presentations of eating disorders. The service model includes an appropriate emphasis on prevention and early intervention.
Neuro Developmental Team (NDT):
This is a countywide Tier 3 service, where Tier 2 services such as nurse-led sleep clinic, nurse-led behavioural clinics, locality parenting support teams, CHUMS and Child Development Centre assessments (as appropriate) have been previously. Referrals are based on young people presenting with a combination of both: evidence of learning disability (IQ<70) and / or a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder or severe challenging behaviour and or moderate to severe.
Adolescent Mental Health Team (AMHT):
The specialist team work with young people age 13-17 presenting with severe mental illness and behaviour indicating a high risk to themselves or others. This will include young people who are psychotic, bipolar, severely depressed or dysphoric and emotionally unstable, or with other conditions such as obsessive compulsive disorder where there is a high level of dysfunction, and those isolated to a marked degree when it is considered a significant mental illness is likely. The main function of the model is to provide an alternative to in-patient admission through community based interventions.
Emotional and Behavioural Team :
The team provides assessment and treatment for young people with emotional and / or behavioural difficulties unless already managed by any of the above specialist teams.
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