Mental Health Support for Young People

Summary:

A total of 52 comments were collected from young people who were receiving treatment from Child and Adult Mental Health Services (CAMHS), family members, carers, and 2 staff.  Over 2 days individual’s attending CAMHS were invited to take part by discussing their experiences through the use of a semi-structured interview.

The key findings are as follows:

• Overall young people and staff felt that the care and support provided by CAMHS was positive.
• Young people and carers tended to have mixed levels of understanding/ awareness of mental health issues at the first onset of their illness.
• Young people were more fearful, withdrawn and confused.
• There were mixed experiences from both young people and parents/carers about the support from schools.  Both felt there was a lack of understanding from schools and young people highlighted being bullied and excluded.
• The general view is that GP’s are supportive and able to refer to CAMHS, although there remains some issues in terms of GP’s as prescribers of medications.
• Waiting times were highlighted as a major concern by both young people and their parents/carers.  This was especially problematic for those who were waiting for a referral to convert to an appointment especially when they had already experienced years of poor mental health without support.
• Both young people and parents/carers felt the support from CAMHS staff was good with staff having positive and supportive attitudes.
• There was concern over a lack of support during out of hours and communication between CAMHS and adult mental health was raised as problematic.