Camhs have turned down support for my daughter.

[inapickle2300]

My dd15 has been suffering from poor mental health for a few years. She took tablets back a few years ago and was self harming. She had many sessions with Cahms and was signed off as she had improved. Her mental health has taken a nose dive again, she’s been thinking about suicide a lot and has been self harming, cutting herself. She’s been crying to me asking for help. Cahms have said she doesn’t meet the criteria so won’t see her. I haven’t told her, I’m afraid it’ll push her over the edge. They pointed us in the direction of online help websites and apps. What exactly would meet their criteria if self harm and contemplating suicide doesn’t?

Many CAMHS have a large volume of referrals.

I have heard that some are prioritising and are only seeing those who have actually attempted suicide.

If you can afford private therapy I would recommend it. A private psychiatrist will also be able to prescribe anti-anxiety/anti depressants.

Same for my teen DD. Self harm, suicidal thoughts, emotional based school avoidance, highly anxious but not meeting the criteria for CAMHs support.

It’s awful, the change in her since lockdown is terrible. Her school has actually done away with its school based Elsa support but does have a counsellor who visits so we’ve referred her for that. Children’s mental health seems in crisis.

Yes we've had the same with my ds, from age 15. He's now 18. We were fobbed off with websites, phone chats etc (which are helpful for low level MH issues) but in the end we had to seek private therapy and a psychiatrist.

I was told by a CAMHs mental health triage nurse that unless they are contemplating taking their own life, they are not priority.

Young Minds and local charities can provide therapy sessions and I heard an NHS radio advert the other day saying that doctors can refer patients for CBT therapy.

I hope you're daughter is doing well. I second others saying seek out a private psychotherapist for a short while. When they are at crisis point they need to be seen soon.
We have just completed 10 sessions for our 14 year old daughter and during that time it was revealed she was self harming and had been doing it since age 10. We have also paid for an ASD assessment as that seems to have been the root of her anxiety and overwhelm.

Been to CAMHS myself - it's BS. Complete waste of time and makes kids worse than they already are.

There is no seems about it - children’s mental health across the county is absolutely in crisis. If early help was available and children with concerning early warning signs could get help it would stop so many reaching crisis long before they reach the 18-24+ month waiting list. In schools it’s honestly heart breaking- yes we can see how distressed your child is, in 2 years we can access appropriate support from medically trained mental health professionals

How was it bad for you?

CAMHS are notoriously terrible. A private child psychologist I know actually left camhs because he felt it was being run so unethically even though he really wanted to do NHS > private.

It's primarily a funding issue, but not exclusively.

Going private really really is the best thing you can do. I'd start with a psychiatrist, who can recommend medication if necessary & point you to a psychologist if needed.