What exactly are CAMHs supposed to treat?

[WhiteC0sm05]

Seems to be very little in our area.

Bugger all in our area too.
Someone left a google review for our one saying that the place is awful and the people shouldn’t be allowed to work with vulnerable children and let them down.
The review is, sadly, spot on.

Really good question, I wonder if it's possible to do some sort of FoI? They must have to keep statistics on referral types and therapeutic outcomes?

That is the 64 million dollar question, not much it seems at all. Had to fight for years to be seen and was told on the phone by the manager who finally agreed my child could be seen that 'it wasn't going to be the answer to my prayers I thought it would be' biggest understatement ever.

Exclusion criteria with ours states normal reaction to life events eg divorce, bereavement, school related issues....,.but allegedly treat depression and anxiety.

The exclusion criteria could thus discount everything- eg after effects of bullying.

Aren’t depression and anxiety often caused by life events?

They need to focus their limited resources to those most in need.

@Floatyboat even those most in need can't access CAMHS

Ours had a threshold of "must be suicidal" for young people for most of last year. Anything below this was rejected. Plus an 18 month waiting list. Waiting list for emerging mh issues was around 11 months (different service) by which time the word emerging is a fricking joke.

Our CAMHS team is brilliant but so stretched.

No idea.
Dd punched me in the face during a CAHMs meeting, and they said it didn't happen

they don't. They diagnose and then discharge you with a shoddy copy of genetic advice and some links for underfunded charities you could try should you feel you are completely thrown under a bus and not coping by zero support.

Our local camhs are quite open about it. They say they only have funding for dx, not for treatment.

I couldn't even get a referral even with a teen who was shaking and crying at the thought of leaving the house.

Ours excludes any child who sounds like they 'might have autism' but won't refer you on to a diagnostic service for autism either.

Absolutely shit.

It’s a mixed blessing to have only needed one call to get help for my child. I still think, despite their good care, that need aside luck played a part. I don’t think it hurt that I was very middle class and that my child engaged easily so wasn’t just booted off the list again for non compliance.

It took a long time to get seen but thankfully we have fallen pretty lucky with camhs. Ds (10) is autistic and been medicated for anxiety for the last 2 years with therapy to go alongside it (tough as he couldn’t really engage) but before he literally couldn’t leave the house so we have come a long way

To give the other side, dd had a lot of support from our local camhs when she was suicidal. This was also the criteria to be seen.

Mine doesn't have autism, they knew this without any assessment, it was clear to them I was a shit parent and I should go on a parenting course.
I readily agreed, but there were no places on one for 9 years.
Although marginally better than Social work who told me if I'd just made her the right sandwich she wouldn't have needed to beat me up with a laptop.

Oh yes has hoards of charity links my ds is too depressed to access.Said teen wishes he was dead. He is chronically depressed and anxious but mentioned self hatred ( not surprisingly as depressed) which they apparently don’t treat so told to trot off to a charity website. I suspect wishing he was dead isn’t enough, they’d be happier with an attempt- my GP seemed to think this is the way it works. Me hiding the paracetamol is probably doing him a dis-service.🤔

Our CAMHS doesnt see any child with autism either.

I was told Ds needed to have attempted suicide twice. His Camhs referral was rejected at the start of the year. He's barely able to leave the house now.

Their screening team said he did not meet the criteria for support. They refused to see him even once to assess him. Their decision was made on one referral letter. He has had mental health difficulties alongside his ASD for at least 3 years.

Some areas are fantastic but I know that's not the case everywhere

To get seen by our CAMHS you need to complain to PALS so I think criteria there is whoever shouts loudest gets seen. That doesn't mean that what you receive once you are seen will be in any way useful though.
I complained again only to be told that whilst they acknowledged what had been offered wasn't what dd needed or was in any way useful but what dd needed wasn't available because she didn't have a learning disability.
They did allow three sessions with a LD psychologist as a result of second complaint which was really useful and she wrote in support of dd attending an independent specialist school who have their own MH services. Since moving to that school CAMHS have only checked in with us and school give all the support needed.
I imagine CAMHS were glad to offload us tbh as they are completely overstretched and I was shaping up to be a PITA.

They’re full of shit. My daughter was referred after suffering panic attacks associated with school. My manager at the time advised me that her experience of CAHMS was to try and blame the parents for everything which turned out to be true.

DD told me her sessions consisted of trying to find some dark secret in her home life.
They were not interested in teaching her to control her panic attacks or what seemed
obvious to me and our GP, that her school (a comp) was well known for piling on the pressure and telling kids that anything less than an A* meant starvation on the street.

Peers at school had a similar experience
with them.

I work in CAMHS (personally I work with young offenders but have colleges in regular CAMHS).

Throughout my career the level of severity to reach the bar has increased as funding has decreased. So CAMHS treats all mental health disorders, but only the most serious small percentage of them.

It is absolutely inadequate, and very frustrating for the staff. But decisions about the criteria for treatment are made by commissioners not CAMHS teams themselves.

If we, as a country, chose to invest in good quality mental health care we would save money overall as people would not get to crisis point. It would also mean fewer people would have to suffer without help.

I hope people remember at the next election.

I can't find it now but I read an absolutely devastating report about CAMHS in the guardian a few years ago. To be fair if you search CAMHS on their site it comes up with several horrific articles.

If anyone is unaware this would be a good place to start understanding the state it's in.

My wife wrote her MA dissertation on the impact of Austerity on CAHMS here on South East Wales.
She consulted professionals about their experiences
Honestly it was heartbreaking to read, they are fully aware that they are unable to help many of those in need

The mental health crisis amongst children and young people will have been exacerbated by CV19 and lockdown. There needs to be investment in support services including CAHMS and the third sector organisations that can help
I am not holding my breath until that happens though
Let’s hope pressure can be put on the government to recognise this issue
(I know mental health services are devolved but central government holds the purse strings)

White every person I've ever asked has for help has just directed me to a website. I've tried paediatrician, gp, camhs. Last week I talked to an educational pyschologist at the LA and told her I can't get help anywhere for his mental health and issues surrounding his ASD. All she could offer was a link to a mindfulness website.

When I once told a professional he no longer wanted to be alive I was told to take him out for a hot chocolate and a cake.