I have been referred to Young Minds Matter. Does this mean I'm crazy?
Because we have the word ‘mental’ in our name, lots of people get worried about coming to mental health services because of the stigma attached to the word.
But to us, mental health means the same as physical health. We want you to look after your mind as you would the rest of your body.
We use the word mental to describe all the things that go on in the mind and to describe feelings.
It would help me to hear from someone with experience of accessing services
One of our peer support workers, Becky, helped us make a video to describe how she found her time at mental health services and what happened during those initial stages. Peer Support Workers are paid members of staff, who share their lived experience of mental health challenges with service users. They are an integral part of our team.
This video may not be suitable for those who are hard of hearing.
[Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9HDmK7jDv4]
How do I get referred?
The first step is usually to speak to your doctor, teacher or any other professional in your life.
They will ask you to tell them a bit about the kind of problems you’re experiencing so they can think about what sort of help you might need. If they think you need mental health or emotional wellbeing services, they will make a referral on your behalf.
If we think we are the right place to help, we will offer what is called an assessment appointment. This appointment is usually around six weeks after we have been asked to see you. If there are reasons to believe you couldn’t wait this long and you may be seen straight away.
Where will my appointments be?
We are based in Grimsby, Fresheney Green Primary Care Centre.
[Google Map of: DN34 4GB]
What sort of things will you ask me at my first appointment?
Remember, this first appointment is a chance to meet our practitioner and for you to as ask us questions about what we do and how we can help.
Some of the things we ask you might include:
- Who you live with, and how things are in your family
- What life was like when you were younger
- What school is like for you
- How you would describe some of your difficulties, and when you believe they started
- What you would like to change by coming to Young Minds Matter
- What activities or interests you have and enjoy
- Who are the supportive people in your life
We understand that speaking about your thoughts and feelings can feel really scary at first. We will try and help you as much as we can.
It is also important to let you know you will never be forced to share everything with us that you don’t want to.
In your first appointment, you will be asked to complete some forms or questionnaires. These can help you and our practitioner make sense of what is going on, and the best way to support you. When you start to feel better, we can look back at them to see how you are improving and the excellent progress you are making.
Will you share details of what I say with my family/carers?
We will not automatically share everything with your parents or carer, if this is something you do not want.
The only exception to this would be if we were really concerned about your safety, or the safety of another person.
In this instance we would have to tell other people in order to keep you safe!
