Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
Welcome to BaNES CAMHS
We support young people with emotional, behavioural and mental health difficulties.
Who are we?
We are a specialist NHS service providing assessment and support for children and young people up to 18 who are experiencing poor mental health.
We work with you and your family to identify your difficulties and provide the right help for you.
How can you get help from CAMHS?
Self-help resources for parents & carers
These resources will help you understand some of the common mental health problems young people experience and what you can do to help.
- Mental health helpline
We have launched a new mental health helpline for children and young people in Bath, North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire during COVID-19.
If you are already open to CAMHS, please contact your local base as usual, using the contact numbers in the contact us section.
If you are not open to CAMHS and have a concern about a child or young person’s mental health, please phone 01865 903 777 between 9am and 5pm on weekdays. For urgent issues out of hours (which do not require a 999 emergency response) please phone 01865 901 000.
Important information relating to coronavirus (COVID-19)
We are anticipating disruption to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in Bath and NE Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire as a result of the impact of Coronavirus.
Our priority is to minimise disruption as much as possible and to keep you updated and informed of any changes to service delivery.
Click the button below to read the statement from BSW CAMHS about our services during COVID-19:
Coping with Coronavirus
We have compiled a few helpful resources to support children and young people experiencing worries about coronavirus (COVID-19).
Watch the video, download the self-help sheet and visit the Young Minds website.
Common questions
What is CAMHS?
You’ll hear this abbreviation a lot, so let’s explain it now. CAMHS simply stands for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service.
CAMHS help children and young people up to 18 who are finding it hard to cope with everyday life because of difficult feelings, behaviour or relationships.
Most of the time when we are sad, angry, stressed or worried these feelings pass within a few days, but if they go on for a while and stop us enjoying and coping with life, then CAMHS can help.
Just as we go to the doctors when we are physically ill, sometimes we need extra help with our mental health.
Learn more: Young Mind’s ‘Your Guide to CAMHS’
What services do we offer?
We provide flexible support to suit your needs.
- Initially we will find out more about the difficulties you are having.
- We will discuss the sort of treatment and support that is likely to help and agree a plan with you.
- Sometimes a few sessions will be enough to get you back on track. Sometimes you may need to meet with us for longer.
- Most importantly you will be fully involved and the plan we agree together will be reviewed regularly to make sure it is still helping.
Who's who at CAMHS?
The CAMHS team is made up of different mental health professionals with specialised skills and expertise. You might see one member of the team on their own or several of them.
We will work with you to agree what support and treatment is best for you.
What can CAMHS do
CAMHS supports children and young people aged 0-18 years. They can work with you in a range of different ways to suit your needs. Some of the ways we can work with you and the therapies we use are explained below:
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT)
- Family Therapy
- Psychotherapy
- Solution Focussed Practice
As part of our digital offer we are working with our partner, Healios, to provide secure online video assessments and treatment that you can access from your home. This will be offered to you if your clinician feels that it is appropriate.
How can I help improve the service?
Young people like you are key to designing and delivering our services. Find out how you can get involved via the link below.
What we help with
I want to learn more about...
My rights, including confidentiality
Confidentiality
Confidentiality means that what you tell us is kept as private as possible. The only exception to us maintaining confidentiality is if we become concerned about your safety or the safety of others.
We will always try to discuss with you who we need to talk to and what we’re going to say, in a supportive and open way.
Your CAMHS worker can explain this to you in more detail.
Consent
Consent means agreement or permission to do or allow something. CAMHS may ask for your consent to share information with other people (your family or school for example) or consent to accept treatment.
Keeping you safe
You have the right to be safe, no matter who you are or what’s happening to you.
Safeguarding includes:
- keeping you safe from bad treatment, including abuse or neglect
- stopping things which harm your health and development
- making sure you are growing up in a way that lets you get safe and effective care
If you are worried staff are always available and willing to talk with you about any concerns you have.
Moving on from CAMHS
Young Minds (an external site) provide a helpful guide explaining what happens when young people receiving help from CAMHS reach an age when they need to move on and get the support that they need from adult services.
You can access this guide here: Young Minds: Young people’s guide to transition
What things mean (jargon buster)
Young people have said that there are some words in mental health services which can be confusing.
Use our jargon buster to find out what common words you might hear mean: Jargon buster / glossary
Local resources and useful links
- Equality Statement
We are committed to providing services that are accessible to all. Different people have different needs and we will do whatever we can to ensure these needs are met.
Our CAMHS Services are hosted by:
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