FAQs for parents
Healthy Minds Lincolnshire (HML) Frequently Asked Questions
What will happen after a referral has been made?
Once we have received your child's referral this gets looked at by Children and Young people’s Access team. If they feel the referral is appropriate for assessment by Healthy Minds Lincolnshire, we will contact you or your child (if 16 years or over) by telephone or letter and offer a telephone consultation or assessment.
During this telephone consultation, we will discuss which intervention is best for your child’s current needs.
For more information, please visit our my first appointment page if your child has been offered a telephone consultation.
Although it is helpful to speak to young people independently during a telephone consultation, we typically ask that parents or carers also attend and stay for this appointment to give their perspective.
We aim for young people to have their first intervention session/appointment within six weeks of telephone consultation.
Where will my child be seen?
Most of our appointments take place virtually via Microsoft Teams. Young people can access these in a space that is comfortable to them so long as this is confidential. Most young people access their sessions in a private room within school or from home.
If your child is seen face to face, sessions typically take place at school or college. If this is not possible then we will discuss seeing your child in a suitable community venue such as a Children’s Centre.
How will I be involved?
Parent or carers have a crucial role in their child’s life, making it important for them to be involved with their child’s treatment with Healthy Minds Lincolnshire. Level of involvement can vary from:
- joining the parent session of a group
- joining the child in sessions
- attending review appointments.
Typically, we will involve parents as much as we can, recognising the important role you play. Nevertheless, there may be some things your child or young person wishes to keep confidential from you. In these instances, if your child or young person is felt to have capacity to make that decision, then there may be things we cannot share. If your child or young person is at risk of significant harm, then we will involve everyone we need to ensure their safety.
If I am worried about my child who can I speak to?
If your child or young person is open to Healthy Minds Lincolnshire and you are worried about their presentation or have questions about the intervention we are offering, call their Practitioner to share your worries.
Advice will be available to professionals, young people, and parents by contacting the advice line telephone 0800 234 6342 which is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
Referrals can be taken from young people, parents or carers Monday to Friday 9am to 4.30pm
What other support is avaliable for parents of young people in Healthy Minds Lincolnshire?
Check out our Helping myself page for parents for more information about other support available for parents.
CAMHS Frequently Asked Questions
What should I expect from a face to face appointment during Covid-19?
Information about your appointment and what to expect
If you have been offered a face to face appointment, please read the following:
If you or anyone in your household is experiencing symptoms of coronavirus, no matter how mild, you must let us know prior to your appointment. These symptoms include:
- A high temperature
- A new, continuous cough
- Loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
If you have an appointment with one of our teams, please contact the team to let them know you are unable to attend. They will discuss with you suitable alternative arrangements.
Please arrive on time for your appointment.
Hand sanitiser or hand wash is availbale for use in all our reception areas if you wish to use this on arrival.
We request that you wear a face covering when attending your appointment in the clinic. We would encourage you to provide the face covering for yourself. You will not be denied care if you are not wearing a face covering, and we will make one available if this is needed. If you have any difficutlies with wearing a face covering, please discuss this with your clinician. Your clinicians may also wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), which could include a mask, apron and gloves.
Thank you for your understanding and support in preventing the spread of coronavirus.
What will happen during our first appointment?
Please visit our my first appointment section for more information on your initial assessment
Though we will give young people the opportunity to speak independently in their assessment, we typically ask that parents or carers also attend and stay for this appointment to give you perpsective on some of the difficulties you are facing as a family.
Where will our appointments be?
We have a number of CAMHS bases in the county. These are in:
- Lincoln
- Grantham
- Boston
- Louth.
You will usually be invited to a base nearest to you.
How long will my child’s appointments be?
First appointments with CAMHS are usually around 90 minutes.
Any other appointments will depend on the person you see, and the type of support you need.
How will I be involved?
Parent and carers have a crucial role in their child’s life, making it important for them to be involved with their child’s treatment at CAMHS. Level of involvement can vary, from
- joining the child in therapy (ie. family therapy)
- attending review appointments
- having parent support sessions.
Typically we will involve parents as much as we can, recognising the important role you play. Nevertheless there may be some things your child or young person wishes to keep confidential from you. In these instances, if they are felt to have capacity to make that decision then there may be things we cannot share. If your child or young person is at risk of significant harm then we will involve everyone we need to to ensure their safety.
If I am worried about my child who I can speak to?
If your child or young person is open to CAMHS and you are concerned about their presentation or their treatment, call your CAMHS clinician to share your worries.
What other support is available for parents/carers of young people in CAMHS?
Check out our 'Helping myself' page for parents for more information about other supports for parents or carers.
I’ve been invited to something called Systemic Family Therapy- what is this?
Families are small and unique communities. Like all communities they sometimes get into difficulties through their differences with one another, or feel the strain when members experience troubles. Family and Systemic Psychotherapy (often called Family Therapy) helps people in close relationship help each other. It enables family members:
- to express and explore difficult thoughts and emotions safely
- to understand each other’s experiences and views
- to appreciate each other’s needs
- to build on family strengths
- to make useful changes in their relationships and their lives.
Sometimes it doesn’t take much to help a family free up their strengths. Sometimes difficulties are more complex and families may need longer to find solutions that work for them.
I’ve been invited to go to Parent Anxiety Group, what does this mean?
Importantly, our groups are not parenting courses. We are not here to dictate or judge how you bring up your child or children.
When this type of intervention is suggested, most parents want to know why we are not working directly with the child. Research suggests that for younger children with anxiety or lots of worries, it is more beneficial for us to work with parents than directly with the child themselves. We want to empower you by teaching you skills to manage your child’s anxiety and share key ideas about how to practically manage it. The idea is that if we help you to cope with your child’s anxiety, you will be able to provide the support your child needs and act as a co-therapist.
One of the benefits of being in a group with other parents is the shared experience and the opportunity to learn from each other. We aim to help you feel supported and understood, with plenty of time for discussion. As clinicians, we intend to give you some suggestions to go away and try with your children. This includes trying out some relaxation within the group. This will hopefully give you more confidence to try the strategies out at home with your children.
We use a CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) model for the group and look at the following areas:
- recognising different levels of anxiety, the development and maintenance of anxiety
- how anxiety affects the body
- graded exposure
- goal setting
- safety behaviours
- thoughts. Thought challenging and balancing thinking
- reassurance
- building brave behaviour and fear fighting ideas
- externalising worry
My young person is transitioning to adult services, what can I expect?
For more information about transitioning to adult service, please check out our 'transitioning to adult services' page where you can learn about the process and what to expect.
What happens after my child/young person is discharged?
We understand that being discharged from CAMHS or treatment ending can be daunting for parents and carers, not just children and young people.
Firstly, we encourage you to discuss any worries around discharge with your child's CAMHS Lead Professional, who will speak to you about some of the reasons why this may be being suggested or considered the best course of action. Discharge may be for a number of reasons. Some (but not all) examples include:
- It could be that your child’s needs could be better met by another service. In this instance, we would signpost you to that relevant service and support that transition.
- CAMHS may not be making any significant impact or improvement. Again, in this instance we would discuss options with you e.g. referral to another services, or advise on how to support your child in context of home and school.
- Often the things learnt through therapy have to be practised and consolidated outside of CAMHS and outside the therapy room in order for change to take place and be sustainable.
Here at CAMHS we aim to work with young people and families to help you develop the understanding and tools needed for you to respond and cope with stressors that may affect your child or young person’s mental health in the future. However, if there was a point in the future that you felt your child or young person needed our support again, parent and carers are now able to request a re-referral to CAMHS through visiting your GP, or telephoning the Here4you line.
