Who we are
CAMHS stands for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. We provide support and treatment for children, young people and their families who are experiencing mental health difficulties. We support children and young people aged 0-18 (24 if they have been in the care system) who are experiencing psychological distress and need support with their mental health.
The CAMHS team includes mental health nurses, social workers, assistant practitioners, psychologists, consultant psychiatrists, peer support workers and administrators.
At the current time due to Covid-19 guidelines we will be delivering our service differently to keep families safe. For the majority of appointments we will therefore be offering telephone and video appointments only.
CAMHS Teams
Core CAMHS Team
Core CAMHS is a team of trained Mental Health Practitioners and Assistant Practitioners from various clinical backgrounds including Mental Health Nurses, Social Workers, Psychologists and Psychiatrists.
This is the team you would usually see on your first visit to CAMHS.This team works with children, young people, parents & carers to assess the mental health of children and adolescents who have been identified as potentially having moderate to severe mental health needs.
Visit our my first appointment page. to learn more about what to expect on your first visit to CAMHS.
CAMHS Crisis and Enhanced Treatment Teams (CCETT)
The CAMHS Crisis and Enhanced Treatment Teams (CCETT) are based in Lincoln and Boston and cover the whole county.
The staff members in the teams are social workers and nurses by background and aim to support young people in a mental health crisis through providing assessment an intensive home treatment. This includes supporting young people experiencing thoughts of suicide and engaging in significant self harming behaviours. By working with young people and their families and carers, we aim to avoid hospital admission wherever possible by providing intensive support in the home environment. We know from extensive research this provides better outcomes for young people.
Our working hours are 8.45am – 7pm every day. We run an out of hours triage service 7pm – 8.45am to respond to A&E, the police or ambulance services. This is to provide support and advice around mental health presentations to these services. We aim to see all young people appropriate for the service within 72 hours.
We are able to offer intensive, evidence based, short term support (i.e. up to eight weeks) to manage risk and prevent deterioration via group work, 1:1 therapy (CBT, DBT, EMDR and Animal Assisted).
Young people can access our service via GPs and social workers directly or can make a CAMHS self-referral 9.30am – 4.30pm Monday to Friday.
If a young person does not meet the criteria for our team, we will signpost to a more appropriate service (within LPFT or otherwise).
CAMHS Eating Disorder Team
This team works with children and young people presenting with an eating disorder such as Anorexia Nervosa or Bulimia.
CAMHS Harmful Behaviour Service
The CAMHS Harmful Behaviour Service works with children and young people (up to the age of 18 years old) displaying sexual behaviour that is causing concern, and which falls outside behaviour considered developmentally appropriate for a child or young person of that age. The Brook Traffic Light Tool is a good starting point for considering whether a sexual behaviour being displayed is of concern
The Harmful Behaviour Service provides professional advice, assessments using the Assess Intervene and Move on (AIM) model with trained assessors, and evidence-based interventions.
The CAMHS Harmful Behaviour Service works with children, young people, families/carers and professionals to offer a co-ordinated approach to reduce levels of risk and vulnerability to self and others and is informed by Safeguarding Children guidance and the Signs of Safety model used within Lincolnshire Children’s Services.
For further information around sexual behaviour concerns in children and young people, please visit the following sites
- Stop it Now! Concerned about a child or young person’s sexual behaviour? webpage
- Parents Protect- Resource pack for parents
- NSPCC-Harmful sexual behaviour webpage
- NSPCC- Harmful sexual behaviour framework document
- Lincolnshire Safeguarding Childrens Partnership guidance- - Children and Young People who Display Sexually Inappropriate or Harmful Behaviours
CAMHS Learning Disabilities Team
Download our CAMHS Learning Disability Service- Easy Read Guide
CAMHS Learning Disability team is a community based specialist service offering support to children and young people, aged between 0-18 years, who are experiencing significant mental health problems and who are diagnosed with moderate to severe learning disability.
What we can help with
- Mental health and/ or associated complex needs
- Challenging behaviour
How we can help
The team will work with you, your parents/carers, schools, and health professionals and social care to offer individual tailored advice and strategies to support you. This might include:
- Conducting a comprehensive holistic assessment to include psychological, emotional and behavioural health as well as looking at physical issues which could be affecting mental health well-being (e.g. sleep)
- Conducting a psychiatric assessment and medication consultation / review (if required)
- Offering behaviour management advice and interventions
- 1:1 time with the young person and their family
- Offering telephone consultations and advice
- Teaching and consultation to agencies (such as schools, respite services, children’s homes)
- Offering a parent support program
- Signposting to other appropriate agencies
This is not an exhaustive list and most importantly, following any assessments, you and your family will be invited to be involved in deciding the best course of action.
When is CAMHS appropriate?
If your child/young person is experiencing difficulties with their mental health that has not improved despite support from another professional or service, CAMHS may be able to help. If your child is experiencing significant psychological distress that places them at risk of signifcantly harming themselves, our CAMHS Crisis & Home Treatment Team may also be able to help.
If your child has accessed support from another service (such as Healthy Minds Lincolnshireor counsellor within school) but you are still concerned about their mental health and would like to speak to a mental health professional to see whether a referral to CAMHS would be suitable, you are now able to ring our
Lincolnshire Here4You Line
01522 309120
(Monday- Friday 09.30- 16.30)
Please note, if you are a parent/carer ringing to refer your child/young person, you need to have Parental Responsibility in order to make this referral.
What we can help with
If a referral to CAMHS has been accepted, you and your child will be invited to an assessment appointment. To learn more about what happens in this appointment, check out our 'My First Appointment" page.
If it is agreed in this appointment that CAMHS is the right service to help, your clinican will discuss treatment options with you. CAMHS offers a wide range of evidence based treatments for a variety of conditions and presentations. These pathways are informed by NICE guidelines, ensuring we are providing the safest, most effective treatment possible. Treatment Pathways include
- Depression
- General anxiety
- Specific anxiety (such as obsessive compulsive disorder, social anxiety)
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Self-harm
- Attachment disorder
- Harmful sexual behaviour
Our bases
Details of where we are based and clinics are detailed on our Contact Us page
Our therapy groups for parents
Our groups are not parenting course. We are not here to dictate or judge how you bring up your child or children.
When this intervention is suggested, most parents want to know why we are not working directly with the child. Research suggests that for some preesntations, 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 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.
“The most useful part of the group was the interaction and discussion between all members of that group and this transfer of best practice for individual situations- also the space given to think up new strategies together.”
“Genuinely all of the group was extremely useful- particularly speaking to other parents going through the same emotions and similar experiences.”
