CAMHS HELP PLEASE!!! Can I pull my child out?

You are right, I'm sorry. Focal psychodynamic psychotherapy is only on the adult guidelines.But it sounds like a different way forward is needed here

Is it the eating disorder service? As there may be more of a safeguarding concern for pulling a child out of that than CAMHS generally. But if he's now gaining weight and you have the medical evidence it should be ok. Or you could wait until he's no longer underweight just so all avenues of support are open to you.

I think you’d need to provide some evidence from the paed otherwise it could be a big safeguarding issue.

No the default treatment for Anorexia is FBT and nothing else is offered even if your child has an autism diagnosis. MANTRA is an adult treatment.

Discuss this with whomever s/he is seeing. Request a review; let them know how s/he feels about treatment so far. Depending on the treatment, see what else they can offer that might be a better fit. Eating disorder treatment usually starts with guided self help of some kind, progresses to CBT E or Mantra etc If it isn't helping, ask for psychotherapy as per NICE guidelines. Good luck

Can age 16 self discharge even if CAHMS are advising not medically safe? Eating disorder patient finding treatment more detrimental and can't face going back

It's so so dependent on your situation and tbh the clinician you get. The waiting list to be seen is so so long, but at the same time I've found them quite understanding so I would actually be quite honest and tell them about the meds etc.
If it's eating disorder related than I would definitely stay on the books.

We withdraw our son as the support CAHMS provided was beyond useless. We'd waited two years for it too. We went through a private CBT route instead and now he doesn't see anyone as it's currently not needed.

Yes they will most likely discharge him very fast in light of the new information and the issue being resolved .
In response to your question about the consent form to contact school, anything to get a broader picture is surely helpful in theory . In an ideal world a key member of staff who knows your child well would fill in this form with relevant info. In our experience the forms for school were filled in by a member of admin staff who had never met our child, taught our child, or had any knowledge of them whatsoever.
It’s a very overwhelmed and deeply flawed system.

No, do not withdraw. If he no longer requires their help then they will see that first hand and discharge themselves.

Daft? The OP hasn’t said anything daft.

Exactly this if he goes to the next session and explains the situation they may contact gp who will back this and then discharge him anyway. All you would do by ending sessions yourself is raise suspicion. Cahms are jam packed and a bit shit so will be happy to discharge him when everything is cleared up.

You are not a medical professional. Let them decide whether your DS needs MH support or discharge.

People are assuming the child is being offered sessions of some sort, presumably people think he is having counselling or therapy. Our local CAMHS doesnt offer any therapy, they offer support groups only and assessment or the other pathway for ND assessment. If a child has ADHD they come under CAMHS for meds and reviews but thats it, no actual input

OP hasnt specified exactly what the appointment was or is going to be, so people saying 'stick with it after one session' dont know whether the child was receiving full blown therapy or just had their first appointment which basically takes some initial information. There may be nothing to 'stick with'

Anyway OP CAMHS ios not statutory or mandatory, if you dont want to engage, dont engage.

I think that you should continue. CAMHS are extremely oversubscribed. If you withdraw now, it will take for ever to get back on the programme. Give it six weeks, and discuss the treatment with your son's GP.

It's hard to say with the level of detail you've given, but as your DS's issues are "complex", even if they're primarily or exclusively physical they're likely to have had an impact on his emotional well-being so it would be good for him to use a few sessions to talk through what he's experiencing.

If you've actually managed to get CAMHS to see your child, they probably need to?

In DD's case even a suicide attempt wasn't enough to meet the threshold.

I’m glad to hear your son is better.

Please go, people wait years for camhs, my ds has been declined twice by them because their criteria is now so tight. If it’s a physical health issue that’s resolving & no mh issue they will discharge your son. If it’s not resolved & your son does need them if you don’t go it will be a nightmare trying to get them to accept him back.

This. I think doing just one session isn’t really giving it a go.

Yes, you can just decline further care. If there was significant concern that your son required mental health care/he was wanting to engage with camhs and you were declining it, that may result in a social work referral.

Camhs are also very overworked - chances are if it is the case that it's a physical issue, now resolved, and your son isn't keen to engage that they will suggest you close his case themselves.

I can give you my own experience.
It may or may not be relevant. My teen was referred to camhs for extreme pmt, or pmdd.
It began overnight with the onset of menstruation.
This was largely because of the impossibility of seeking gynaecological referrals for young people in my area. I would add that nearly three years on , we are still awaiting a face to face appointment with gynaecology.
The problems were complex and extreme, complete school refusal, anxiety, emotional dysregulation, poor impulse control, the works.
The camhs sessions were advised by the gp.
They involved assessments for neurodiversity, all sorts of therapeutic interventions , therapists, suggestions for youth groups and things for ‘troubled teens’ but zero medical support really.
Anyway I could go on all day, but the primary issue was resolved after medication for the main issue was effective. And I had to research it, practically fight the gp for it and basically jump through every hoop because when you have a teenager involved with camhs all of a sudden they go in one room with a therapist and you sit there in the waiting room none the wiser. There isn’t really a place to voice your experience or observations as a parent.
So , I’d say . Camhs can be useful for developing coping strategies alongside a medical diagnosis that affects mental health. But, it is useless in the absence of necessary medical interventions if that’s what’s needed. It can be that after a while of living with an inadequately addressed medical issue that has significantly impacted wellbeing, mental health support will be useful anyway.
I’d recommend discussing this openly with your therapist and your gp, and outlining your frustrations and reservations because of your experience. See what they come back with.

We walked out of a CAHMS appointment when the women there spoke to my suicidal daughter like an idiotic piece of shit.

I swore I'd never make her go back and I didn't. We did have to go private which cost a fortune, but if your problem has been resolved then that won't be an issue.

Who's going to stop you? If you don't need the appointments just call up and cancel.

You could maybe go to one more appointment and see how you and your son feels after that?

Our experience with camhs was extremely disappointing but I'm sure some people have had better experiences with them

You can, but think very carefully because I doubt they'd be happy to have him back at all for anything related to this problem. If the problem has been resolved totally, and maybe it wasn't really mental anyway, then yes take him off. If he has some aspect of poor mental health, but seems better at the moment, don't in case he becomes worse again.