Teen dd anxiety where to start with private support

[myladyjane]

Dd 15 has been struggling with anxiety for a couple of years now. Initially quite low key but has increased a lot and her first round of gcse mocks have been too much and I’m getting concerned there are some ocd behaviours emerging (I has post natal ocd so recognise a few things she’s telling me).

she’s very strong academically, perfect attendance, well behaved, has a friend group (although does struggle a bit) so school have never flagged any concerns at all. I raised some concerns with school last year and we went to the gp who directed us back to the school nurse. Dd sort of tried once and they couldnt see her (and a couple of her mates have gone and have had really poor experiences for some fairly major issues like parental loss) so she is 100% against that as a route.

she has been incredibly resistant to any external help but today, after crying at sports day because of the odd number of people in the relay (and yes, she was laughing as she told me because she knows it sound so silly) I have FINALLY got her to agree that she needs some professional help.

so where to really start. I can make a gp appointment but don’t want to get directed back to the school nurse again. I get the impression that her issues are not severe enough for camhs as she’s currently functioning ok, no self harm, she’s not depressed (again like me and my anxiety, she’s actually quite happy and jolly when not fighting her own brain).

I can afford to go private a little bit but not on a limitless basis. So is it worth paying for some kind of initial assessment and perhaps some counselling and/or medication? We can self refer for nhs talking therapy around here from 16 which is in a few months time so maybe that’s an option in due course?

where do I start looking for that initial assessment support? I looked BACP but not sure that was right (and most were adult issues).

And before anyone asks, I would be unsurprised if autism is suggested - I can see a lot of traits. But equally there are lots of key areas she doesn’t tick so who knows. I only really care to the extent it helps her manage her reactions and she works with her lovely little brain not against it.

thanks for reading and any suggestions for how to progress gratefully received.

BACP is a bit of a Wild West to be fair and some people are registered without a comprehensive training. UKCP is better, you can't be a member without a training, but for children, I'd suggest the ACP

https://childpsychotherapy.org.uk/find-child-psychotherapist-search

i had a similar experience although possibly more severe - but good to try to tackle now as these issues can develop quickly in teenage years. My DD was hiding a lot from us and resisted getting help for a long time. GP was concerned and referred us to CAMHS but they were hopeless. Took a year to offer an assessment, then offered group therapy with a year waiting list. In the meantime we went privately - my DD needed medication, so that was via a private psychiatrist, and we asked him to to recommend a private therapist and nutritionist. For a year or so this was costing around £1,000 per month so not cheap and even if you have the money, it’s hard to find adolescent specialist clinicians who have availability. DD is over 18 now so gets prescriptions via NHS GP but continues with private therapist - but monthly rather than weekly as her mental health has stabilised hugely. I hope at some point she’ll be able to stop the low dose SSRI but for now I think she still needs it. In terms of finding people I looked for people who specialised in adolescent anxiety and depression, had extensive training and had worked in senior NHS positions as I hoped that meant they had been thoroughly vetted. For therapist it’s a bit hit and miss as it’s important to have a good rapport. We were lucky that they clicked.

There are also some local teenage mental health charities - we have one that offered us 6 free therapy sessions which I’d heard good reports of, but I knew 6 sessions would not be enough.

Thanks for these responses. We’ve got a couple of good local charities that I’ve been signposted to. I’ve agreed with dd that we are going to do gp in the summer holidays and go from there. She’s actually in a good place atm, open to considering help and we’ve just got some treatment sorted for a lingering physical thing. Feels like a bit of a weight lifted just to able to have the conversation tbh

Depends on the area.
Also yes BACP is varied but doesn’t mean there aren’t highly trained practitioners on there. You need to check training and experience - both are important. Both BACP/UKCP (and of course HCPC) practitioners are employed by the NHS!
our CAMHS would potentially see you for one of their mild to moderate teams based on the brief info you’ve shared but yes for all teams there is a waiting list 6-11 months in our area currently

Both BACP/UKCP (and of course HCPC) practitioners are employed by the NHS!

Not all NHS areas do. My local CAMHS does not employ BACP without another core profession.

@BuffShaxReally! You learn something new everyday. I wonder if that will change with the upcoming SCOPED changes/reviews as they seem to be aligning heavily with UKCP and the NHS