What options are there while waiting for CAMHS support for OCD?

[annonynous12]

Hi i just wanted to ask for a bit of advice on my options my daughter is 16 and has left school she has had ocd but its been getting worse these few weeks since she left she got referred to camhs in september and its now july not heard anything and the gp has sent the referral again however she said she wanted to start her on medication for it in the meantime whilst we wait however she consulted with her colleague and they said they needed to ask camhs first and then again today she went and it was a different gp who said camhs said wait and all we can do is wait
is there any options in the meantime she has used some webites for mental health however it dosent seem to work

There are charities specifically for OCD, they will have resources and can signpost to books etc.

You could also try Young Minds, who have resources for parents plus a helpline for parents.

That's a long time to not acknowledge a referral. The target is 18 weeks, so I'd make sure they have it.
Also, some OCD would be MHST world, so does her school/college have an MHST offer?

The charity OCD-UK is great, loads of support for parents including an online support group - https://www.ocduk.org/support-groups/online/

Camhs are notorious for loosing referals. Chase them up to make sure they have it and ask where she is on their lists.

I rang CAHMS twice a week at least to chase. I phoned charity support line for advice and took her to mental health A&E when it got really bad. It is so hard seeing your child struggle and deteriorate when there is no support available. I actually had private health care but the psychologists I tried through that told me she needed to be seen by CAHMS and in the system and couldn’t help. It did take a long time but she has had a lot of support in the end. We are still working on recovery and treatment. Am sorry you are going through this. It is a very distressing and hard illness to understand as a parent.