I’m a Camhs manager

[MrsJohnSnow]

Ask me anything - it’s a tough one but I’m happy to help as best I can

@MrsJohnSnow - just sending a big high 5 from a fellow CAMHS practitioner. You sound like an ace team manager. 🙌🏻🙌🏻

Some people cannot differentiate between their personal experience of one service and that of services in general. Having a go at you like that is unfair & utterly pointless. Sometimes people show you who they are and the best thing you can do is listen. Ignore - nothing you say will make them feel better as you did not cause their problems in the first place.

All the best to you, your service & the young people.

@cattaxi thank you for your kind words and back at you!! 🙌

@Bourbonbiccy I would advise training as a healthcare professional (nurse, social worker, OT, psychologist etc) it’s the stepping stone to other roles and a qualification that take you into more senior roles with clinical credibility

I have concerns for my son but doctors won't refer him yet, what age do you start taking referrals?

CAMHS nurse here too, you sound awesome OP.
In answer to the earlier ‘question’-yes I am proud of what we do. Every damn day.

Do you think the STOMP initiative can be a hindrance to some children / young adults receiving the correct and most appropriate treatment.

I know a very young child with extremely high anxiety that has almost led to family breakdown. Their behaviour has become extreme, violent, unpredictable and despite parents genuinely best efforts it appears as if the childs anxiety is so great the usual talking therapies and behavioural management techniques arent working.

The complication comes in that the child also has ASD. CAMHS have dictated that all anxiety/ behaviour is ASD related rather than purely anxiety based and thus cannot offer support due to the STOMP initiative.

The child is prescribed Phernergan as an interim measure.

@Kirstyhewlett2018 hi Kirsty - not sure what your concerns are or the age of your son? There are many people out there who can support you - school nurse, health visitor always good for pre school age child, or primary mental health workers who can be can be accessed through the other practitioners mentioned above. You may need to access Early Help? Sorry to be vague but whatever you’re worried about speak with someone. If you’re young one is under 5, health visitor a great start point. Best wishes

@whatwouldnigellado thank you and yes be proud!

My son is 2, we've tried the health visitor. She's seen him once and said she'd be back to do an assessment this was nearly 3 months ago. Every time we call she says she'll make an appointment but never does.
My concerns are that he doesn't respond when called, he'll only play with 3 toys and that's only the wheels, when we took him to a children's party he sat in the corner just staring at everyone wouldn't interact at all. My biggest worry are his tantrums they can last hours and he can be quite nasty. I've already had a black eye twice I get bitten headbutted smacked punched and he'll do the same to my daughter. We've asked the doctors for help they sent the health visitor she referred us to early start who decided they didn't need to be involved
I'm at a loss now. I just want some help for him
Would you think I have something to worry about?

@21Frustratedandworried what's the STOMP initiative?

Three years ago, we got a letter from CAMHS, saying they would be in contact shortly to set up a meeting with DD and us. Despite endless chasing, this never happened. She was offered online counselling, which was hopeless, and telephone, which was only marginally better. Her GP and the school nurse were both of the opinion that she needed face to face counselling (which we ended up paying for) and mild antidepressants, which they could not prescribe. It felt like catch 22, and we counted the days until she was18 and could get the help she needed.

(Her anxiety and depression were triggered by being sexually assaulted. The case went to court, which brought about even more trauma for her. Particularly as the little shit was found not guilty.)

We were “lucky” in that we could afford counselling, but what happens to all those kids whose parents can’t afford it?

The STOMP initiative info can be found here www.england.nhs.uk/learning-disabilities/improving-health/stomp/

It's a great initiative for those who are being needlessly medicated however for people like the child I mentioned it has become a barrier to appropriate support. CAMHS in this area do not offer play therapy, art therapy ( unless trauma victims), or even counselling for a child of this age. They simply have suggested " strategies to reduce ASD related anxiety" These strategies along with numerous others have been implemented and documented as not working correctly and yet CAMHS will do no more as the child has ASD / STOMP. It should be noted a psychiatrist hasnt assessed the child themselves to make that conclusion.

@KirstyHewlett2018 make a GP appointment and ask for a referral to a developmental paediatrician. Write down beforehand a list of when your son met the usual milestones and a list of concerns. Have to say when I saw the GP for my son sitting tight and letting ds free to rampage did seem to help GP decide that the screaming banshee that neither I nor they could contain merited further assessment.

My teenage DS has started having spectacular meltdowns where he says the most horrible things . They go beyond the normal teenage outbursts. He recently told me a tutor suggested he may have ADHD. How do I start the process to help him? His dad suffers with anxiety and depression and sadly I am starting to see some traits in my son.

My son was diagnosed with autism in 2008. He has not seen any medical professional since 2013. I dont know why. Who should he be seeing? It used to be camhs in Hampshire before we moved.

@Frustratedandworried thanks for that. I suspect dd would have fallen at that hurdle too then if it's in our area. Sometimes medication is necessary to give a child respite from their own thoughts and allow them to try things like CBT or counselling.

The issues have far more to do with mismanagement than resources.

Yes mismanagement of CCG who decide that CAMHS need 1% of the MH budget but expect them to work miracles with kids way past the point of early intervention and stop them moving into adult services.

CAMHS staff are some of the most dedicated out there but they are consistently restrained by CCGs thresholds and the realities of working in MH.

If people are gonna make comments like this they really need to understand that your one bad experience is not indicative of a whole industry. It's like saying a nurse was rude to me so all 600,000 of them must be assholes.

There is a severe lack of perspective from a lot of people on MN when it comes to health and a shed load of entitlement and demands.