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

[NoisyPoster]

So I have two questions.

1. Am I allowed to withdraw my child from CAMHS? We have only had one appointment and for various reasons, weren’t really satisfied with the experience. We also have found a medical cause for his issues and so we don’t see a need to return. This issue has caused DS to be underweight, but he is now gaining weight after starting a new medication.
2. CAMHS have sent a consent form. It asks if they can contact DS’s school for info. I want to put no for this. Ideal scenario is that we just withdraw him and then this question isn’t relevant. But if it doesn’t work that way, am I okay to put no for this?

DS issues are complex and outing and so I don’t want to post the details for that reason. So I’m sorry that my post is quite vague.

Any knowledge in this area would be much appreciated.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Daft? The OP hasn’t said anything daft.

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

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.

Okay… seems the majority think we should let it run it’s course.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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