cahms tier 4

[icklemickle]

Am new to mumsnet and really need some advice from those who have some experience/insight. My DS aged 16 is in a in patient unit having seriously tried to take his life. We have been from zero to tier 4. No previous cahms!! How do we access help for ourselves and our children, we"re on a steep, very steep leaning curve.

The fact he is in a unit, means he will get immediate support at least . Its traumatising , but my DD drew some comfort from other patients knowing it wasnt just her suffering and partly we had a chance to work out how to support her. Support for parents and siblings vastly differs between units as their focus is the patient .I found it very isolating. Certainly ask for family therapy, if appropriate. As he is over 16, he is the patient, and you may be frustrated that you don't get much information as parents or family. If you need support personally, go via your GP, and ask for CBT. For my DDs brother, we had a camhs walk in for teens which he attended (organised separately). For him, its important you have support, so when you see him, you are able to be calm and consistent. I wasn't for a while and I realise in retrospect, it was harder for my DD to see me not coping, while she wasn't. Advice is to just to try and bring a bit of normal when you visit, his favourite food, pillows from home etc, and not to ask too many questions, as he will be doing that on the ward..........wish you all the best.

Thank you anthropology for your advice and tips. I will persue the walk in camhs for the siblings and family therapy and buckle myself tight for this rollercoaster. Yes it is traumatic and isolating but thank you for replying.

My DD17 is now a day patient at an inpatient adolescent m/h unit, having been an inpatient. The whole thing is a huge learning curve and we have found that there are many, many frustrations but also some good things. A lot depends on the individual staff members - some are great, while with others you wonder why they're doing the job.

chocoholic73.I agree with you about staff although sometimes found the most senior therapeutic staff, the most rigid and unhelpful. In restrospect, a decent camhs adolescent unit with some good staff, and other teens recovering alongside a supportive family environment, does give a teen a good chance at recovery . The hardest thing to see was patients being kicked out on their 18th birthday, in some cases with terrible consquences.

yes anthropology .... we are very concerned about what will happen when DD hits 18 ... the plan is to taper things off gradually but it's very very scary

chocaholic73 We pushed CAMHS for a transition assessment with a senior therapist (at a different clinic) in order to be prepared for post 18 as there were lots of different diagnoses and contradictory paperwork over the previous 3 years. I had to lobby the Trust for this. . Even with 3 admissions and this report recommending robust support, it took nearly 12 months for a regular therapist to be allocated which has been helpful, especially around exams. Having said that , things are much better for my DD and many of her friends from the unit . I hope its the same for your son...