Healthy Minds Frequently Asked Questions for Professionals
What is Healthy Minds Lincolnshire?
Healthy Minds Lincolnshire is an early intervention service for emotional wellbeing. Emotions are a normal part of everyone’s lives and we support young people to problem solve and build resilience. This may be through consultation with parents or professionals, training to professionals or direct support. The service has been set up to support young people in the school environment wherever possible.
If you are unsure about the suitability of a referral please contact the Lincolnshire Here4You line:
What is emotional wellbeing?
Examples include:
- Worries and anxieties related to transition, exam stress, and social interactions.
- Low mood, minor self-harm
- Self esteem, confidence issues.
What services do Healthy Minds Lincolnshire offer?
- Training and consultation for professionals to support children and young people’s emotional wellbeing
- Brief evidence based interventions in the form of groups, workshops, parent consultation/groups, 1 to 1. This will be decided by the service at assessment
- For children in reception year or below please consider referral to a Health Visitor in the first instance via the Children's Health Service:
How can a referral be made?
Anyone can refer to Healthy Minds Lincolnshire, including self-referral (13 years or over) and parent or carer referral. For children and young people attending Lincolnshire schools or academies, where possible and appropriate, we prefer referrals to come through schools as appointment sessions are held in schools. Young people and parents or carers are encouraged to speak to their school in the first instance before contacting the Lincolnshire Here4You Line to make a referral.
- GPs can refer to the service via the GP referral form. All sections of the GP referral form must be completed.
- All other professionals can make a referral via the Early Help Assessment. All relevant sections of the Early Help Assessment must be completed.
What needs to be considered before making a referral?
Prior to making a referral please ensure the child meets the criteria for our service.
Has the Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health online pathway been followed prior to making a referral?
Where a child or young person attends a Lincolnshire school and there are concerns regarding self-regulation, anger management or aggression within the school setting, the Lincolnshire Ladder of Behavioural Intervention should be followed (accessed via LCC Perspective Lite).
Please note:
- We do not diagnose, or prescribe
- We are a brief intervention service and therefore complex needs or high risk cases will not be suitable for the service
- We are not an assessment service for any other agency, for example, CAMHS or an autism specialist service
- If another agency are already providing a similar service then we would not become involved at this stage (for example CAMHS, BOSS, counselling).
What do we need from the referral?
As much information about the presenting emotional wellbeing problem as possible.
- What has been tried before?
- Are there any other agencies involved with the case, such as a school counsellor?
- Are there any vulnerabilities in the family?:
- drugs
- alcohol
- Mental Health
- homelessness
- domestic violence
- Are there any vulnerabilities for the young person?:
- learning disability
- long term health condition
- young carer
- Is the young person aware of the referral and happy to engage with Healthy Minds Lincolnshire?
- Is the parent with parental responsibility aware of the referral. Have they consented?
- Is the child or young person attending a school? Is the name of the school included in your referral?
What will happen after a referral has been made?
Once we have received a 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 the young person or family by telephone or letter and offer a telephone consultation.
For more information, families can visit our 'my first appointment' page.
Although it is helpful to speak to young people independently during a telephone consultation, we typically ask that parents/carers also attend and stay for this appointment to give their perspective.
We aim for young people to have their first intervention appointment within six weeks of telephone consultation.
