I'm a CAMHS adolescent therapist AMA

[CAMHSadolescenttherapist]

I have worked for many years in a CAMHS adolescent team in the NHS. We get referrals mostly for high risk and complex presentations: self harm, suicidality, emerging psychosis, intense anxiety, long term school refusal, family crisis and (recently lots of) gender dysphoria. This last year has been intense in our team, with many changes.

As the title says ask me anything. I've name changed for this.

The waiting list in my area for CAMHS is almost 2 years.

@rawalpindithelabrador

THANK YOU, Diverze! 100% spot on. So thankful we now go private with our child and are fortunate enough to be able to pay for it.

Hi, thanks. I work with equally brilliant colleagues with very similar understanding of autism in ordinary camhs though. I don't think the message that going private necessarily gets you "better" people is helpful. I do agree with the prevailing themes in this thread of services that are inadequate in the face of so much need, but people's experience of profs not caring is not, luckily, something I recognise where I work.

I had an incredibly perceptive and helpful CAHMS experience in our last borough. We have just moved... and realise just how patchy the care is. We have a child with a number of neurodevelopment disorders (diagnosed). When I rang in a crisis I was offered a general parenting course that in no way would be able to address the issues we were (and are) having. We are fortunate that we can pay to go privately for support (including very specific parenting support and training).

justsayso, can't even begin to unpack your idiotic post.

@CAMHSadolescenttherapist what is your view on puberty blockers for gender dysphoria and the Tavistock clinic?

[quote Confusedcabbage]@CAMHSadolescenttherapist what is your view on puberty blockers for gender dysphoria and the Tavistock clinic?[/quote]
@Confusedcabbage personally (and in my professional capacity) I follow a watch and wait approach and don't agree with blockers or any medicalisation of children at that age. Thankfully I'm not the one making these decisions. In my work with young people with gender dysphoria (so many of them nowadays! Particularly girls) I am neutral and don't express my personal views

But I do gently nudge them to consider why they hate their body so much, what that is like, opening up the issue. Most often they don't follow the trans pathway. Some do

True enough, Diverze, but going private does give you more choices that should be for all, but sadly are not. I'd have moved on from my son's HCPs had they not been as informed as they need to be. He's a neurodiverse child. We can't expect NT results from a neurodiverse person and don't. I just wish things were different for all. But no way I'd be dealing with our CAMHS here again and that's been made patently clear. Need to switch GPs, though.

Who do you vote for?

My ds13 has been helped twice by Cahms - first time at 7 for a severe food aversion and second time aged 12.

He was in a right mess the second time, unable to go to school, thinking about Suicide, wouldn't leave the house because he was scared and convinced he was fat.

Cahms were amazing! Therapist worked separately with him and me and Cahms Psychiatrist prescribed two medications to help him. They saved my son and I will forever be thankful.

I'm sorry that so many on her haven't had that experience

@MrsBobDylan I’m so glad to hear of your positive experience. It’s so sad to read how many people feel badly let down by camhs.

It's sad how many people, principally young people, ARE let down by CAMHS actually @Pandapotato. The NHS doublespeak/apologese is unhelpful on all levels.

There are children with obvious need who get referrals, there are more who go unnoticed because they look like they’re coping.

Most will never get the help they need.

Not a question you can answer, op, but what I want to know is why people vote for parties who refuse to properly fund and resource services and then complain that the service isn't good enough?

@unmarkedbythat equally I'd like to know why so many senior managers who are very left leaning within these services allow figures to be fudged to the extent they do rather than telling the truth. If the truth were told that might unlock funds but conversely that would also highlight the number of veils and mirrors at play.

Hello Camhs Adolsecent Therapist,

Thank you doing this thread. I know your service is hugely underfunded and overstretched, it's not easy from your end either.

I'd like to ask a very specific question. My DD13 is very withdrawn, wooden, really not right and everyone is worried about her. Many people (we parents, school, GP) have tried to get her to speak with someone but she point blank refuses. She also has terrible insomnia & frequent headaches. For example last night she was up all night, I gave her paracetamol at 3am, she says she finally fell asleep around 6am, but was awoken by her headache at 6.45am. That was a particularly bad night but the insomnia is unreal. I have taken her to the GP about it several times. Our GP says that she, as a GP, cannot prescribe antidepressants for a child, only a child psychiatrist can do so, ie. CAMHS. Ditto for melatonin (to try to help get her sleep back on track). Is this true? I'd love her to go to CAMHS &/or speak to a professional however DD refuses to allow anyone to refer her to CAMHS, repeats that she does not want to talk to any therapist or counsellor. So we are in a catch 22 where GP can't/won't help (not sure which?) and the only other route is blocked by DD.
Is GP correct and any advice???

The GP is correct that they cannot prescribe those medications. Once they have been started on them they can then be prescribed by the GP under a shared care agreement.

Thank you KitHenry for confirming that.

So what do you do if your child refuses to see a therapist/mental health professional???

NICE Guidelines say:
1.6.15 If an antidepressant is to be prescribed this should only be following assessment and diagnosis by a child and adolescent psychiatrist. [2005]

1.6.16 When an antidepressant is prescribed to a child or young person with moderate to severe depression, it should be fluoxetine[4] as this is the only antidepressant for which clinical trial evidence shows that the benefits outweigh the risks. [2005]"

The GP can't override that.

CAMHSadolescenttherapist thank you for doing the work you do.

Are you embarrassed to work for CAMHS?

They are so poor in my county that schools no longer use them.

Is it just the child who can request information not be shared with a parent or can one parent request it not be shared with the other parent?

Do YOU think CAMHS provide an adequate service?

Thanks for this OP I have a few questions

1. Do you believe that dissociative identity disorder is a real mental illness or an iatrogenic condition?

1. Are you aware of colleagues who believe that satanic ritual abuse is a real phenomena rather than a moral panic? Do you believe that SRA is real yourself?

1. Do your colleagues use EMDR as a therapy for working with trauma and / or gender dysphoria?

Thanks :)

Almost forgot,

Have you or your colleagues been offered mindfulness training to help them cope with work stresses?

if so do you have any idea as to uptake including downloading mindfullness apps?

I didn't mean to scare you off OP

I was only asking because in my very significant experience the NHS employs a terrifying number of psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists and other MH professionals who possess an unshakable belief in baby munching, blood drinking, paeodophile satanic cults.

It seems to me that this is a form of mass delusion, at least partly responsponsible for fuelling Qanon / Pizzagate tyle conspiracy theories.

I find it scary that so many mental health professionals who are responsible for providing care to the most vulnerable people in society are themselves in the grip of a collective delusion.

I don't want to take over the thread, but if you don't believe me I would be happy to post some examples of such MH professionals, along with evidential links.

I would be genuinely interested to hear your opinion on the issue and you not reply makes me wonder whether it is because you feel uncomfortable in doing so for some reason.

When I phoned the British Psychological Society to express serious concerns about a clinical psychologist member of theirs who has presented many training events about satanic ritual abuse and mind control the call handler opined gravely "satanic ritual abuse is a very sensitive issue". I was kind of hoping for a more skeptical, rational, less batshit response, maybe along the lines of "that sounds very concernring" or "are you sure about that?" but hey ho! By the time I made that call I had become so used to being gaslighted by various mental health accrediting professional organisations that I had reached peak insanity and just though "oh well,, more of the same then".

Hope to her back from you :)

Sorry to jump on this thread as I realise it is old I’m hoping someone sees this and can answer- my son recently been diagnosed with autism and I have revived the report however there is a couple of things that are incorrect that are referencing our home life that I want redacting as it’s inaccurate. Has anyone has experience of camhs changing the report once it’s written? TIA