I have a DD who is 14 years old. She has been having hallucinations for a long time now, which are getting worse. They can be visual, auditory or physical sensations - but mainly visual, up to 10 times a day. She also has the same hallucinations as nightmares which wake her up. At this stage she's living in fear. Scared of what she's seeing when she's awake, scared to fall asleep because of the dreams, then woken by nightmares. Her sleep schedule is a mess because of this, and mentally she's suffering.
She is high priority on the CAMHS waiting list, but they are quite clear that they don't disclose the waiting time. This is only for an assessment to see what help they can offer. Then we'll go on another waiting list for the actual help. We do pay privately for counselling once a week, but it has not made a difference.
The person I spoke to at CAMHS seemed to think this is related to possible ND, as opposed to psychosis or the beginning of other conditions like schizophrenia. Can the GP make a referral directly to a psychiatrist? Or does it all have to go through CAMHS?