Parents with kids with mental health issues

[RyanLondon]

Hello, Is there a group for parents with kids with mental health issues?

I have a teenage daughter who is under CAMHS. And the only person she truly talks to is me. I am a guy (btw), and not even her mum. I have been trying to get them to open up to her CAMHS counsellor, and she does open up a little, but I know the counsellor does see 90% of it. I think even with me, she holds back on some stuff.

She was almost a Grade A student for many years. But I always knew she was different and had "issues". CAMHS think she is autistic. And she is on the wait list for an in-depth test. Whether it's autism or something else, she has something that is off the charts.

So, it would be good to find a group where people have experience in this area.

Thank you.
Ryan

Ask your CAMHS team if they have a parent support group. Lots of them do.

I find the SEN boards on here quite useful. Plus I'm part of a local support group, that runs both in person and online. It might be worth seeing if your local area has anything.

There is this board on MN https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/child_adolescent_mental_health
and this one
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/special_needs_chat
and also
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/special_educational_needs

The last one is particularly good for schooling issues, and advice n applying for EHCPs if she doesn't already have one.

Children with autism often also seem to develop anxiety. Also 'autistic burnout'.

My own DD does not have autism that we know of though does have other SEN, and she is currently slowly recovering from anxiety & depression.

Ds has ASD, it's not a mental health disorder but you might suffer from MH issues because of it, anxiety is particularly common. I think it's probably normal for teens with ASD to hold a lot in, I would imagine DS does it too.