My doctor has reffered me to CAMHS?

[Alexx]

I've been seeing my doctor on and off for a few years about quite serious depression and anxiety issues. I also told her about my paranoia, and how I (irrationally) feel like people are watching me all the time.

She's now referred me to CAMHS. I'm just a bit worried because that seems a bit more serious than I first thought.
Is it? I honestly don't have a clue.

Has anyone else been referred to them? Thanks.

*referred
Can't believe I got the title wrong. -.-

[Prozac]

I was with CAMHS for two years. Although it didn't seem it at the time, they were pretty helpful. They make sure that you are as safe as possible, have the option of various therapies (I had art therapy and talking therapy) and and consider medication. They're really good for talking to - I had three appointments a week with a psychiatric nurse, art therapist and psychiatrist. They were all pretty nice (though I hated my care co-ordinator). There's not much to worry about.

[cptdean]

i actually work for a CAMHS team at the moment doing their administration :P

it all depends on what tier you are referred into, and by the sounds of it it would be t2 with your issues. they basically need your parents and your permission to do anything, so you dont have to do anything you are not comfortable with.

they are here to help you just like anyone on these forums are, except they are more qualified and it definately helps if there is someone is there for you in person.

there is nothing you should worry about as they are all nice people (well my team is, and i hope yours is aswell). if you need any more information you can ask me

edit: if you engage well with your worker then its really likely to help solve your issues and its proven on the stats that i have to go through each day.
i have even asked a colleague to help council me with some of my own problems, they havent started yet but you can trust them to be supportive and confidential as it is their job and are passionate about helping people
maybe i will be doing your paperwork one day if you live near me hehe

[Alexx]

Originally Posted by Stephanie

I was with CAMHS for two years. Although it didn't seem it at the time, they were pretty helpful. They make sure that you are as safe as possible, have the option of various therapies (I had art therapy and talking therapy) and and consider medication. They're really good for talking to - I had three appointments a week with a psychiatric nurse, art therapist and psychiatrist. They were all pretty nice (though I hated my care co-ordinator). There's not much to worry about.

I honestly didn't expect that they'd be so much help to people - I assumed it was some form of counseling service, and not as in depth as what you've said. It's reassuring and I'm glad to hear that they've helped you!
Thankyou for your reply, it's incredibly helpful

[Alexx]

Originally Posted by cptdean

i actually work for a CAMHS team at the moment doing their administration :P

it all depends on what tier you are referred into, and by the sounds of it it would be t2 with your issues. they basically need your parents and your permission to do anything, so you dont have to do anything you are not comfortable with.

they are here to help you just like anyone on these forums are, except they are more qualified and it definately helps if there is someone is there for you in person.

there is nothing you should worry about as they are all nice people (well my team is, and i hope yours is aswell). if you need any more information you can ask me

edit: if you engage well with your worker then its really likely to help solve your issues and its proven on the stats that i have to go through each day.
i have even asked a colleague to help council me with some of my own problems, they havent started yet but you can trust them to be supportive and confidential as it is their job and are passionate about helping people
maybe i will be doing your paperwork one day if you live near me hehe

Thankyou so much for your reply, I really appreciate it!
My parents don't actually know anything about this.. or know about any of my struggles with mental health. Is it necessary that they know, or can I continue to keep it a secret? I really don't fancy telling them after keeping it on the down low for so long
Do you mind me asking - what exactly is t2?
And also.. will my age effect any of this? I'm 17, and next April turn 18. I know with some services that effects whether you can still receive help from them or not. Will it effect it at all? :/

Sorry I'm asking so many questions - don't worry about replying because I know I'm asking a lot. Thankyou again for your reply, you've been really helpful
It certainly would be funny if you ended up doing my paperwork, haha

[Prozac]

Originally Posted by Alexx

Thankyou so much for your reply, I really appreciate it!
My parents don't actually know anything about this.. or know about any of my struggles with mental health. Is it necessary that they know, or can I continue to keep it a secret? I really don't fancy telling them after keeping it on the down low for so long
Do you mind me asking - what exactly is t2?
And also.. will my age effect any of this? I'm 17, and next April turn 18. I know with some services that effects whether you can still receive help from them or not. Will it effect it at all? :/

Sorry I'm asking so many questions - don't worry about replying because I know I'm asking a lot. Thankyou again for your reply, you've been really helpful
It certainly would be funny if you ended up doing my paperwork, haha

I assume T2 is tier 2, but i'm not quite sure about this one. I *think* it goes up to tier 4 (the most complex issues).
If you're 17 then most things will be confidential. You might want to talk more about it with whoever you see - they're used to reassuring people and talking about the confidentiality policy. They will however have to tell your parents if you're in immediate risk of harming yourself or others.
Once you're 18, you're most likely to be referred to adult services.

[cptdean]

Originally Posted by Alexx

Thankyou so much for your reply, I really appreciate it!
My parents don't actually know anything about this.. or know about any of my struggles with mental health. Is it necessary that they know, or can I continue to keep it a secret? I really don't fancy telling them after keeping it on the down low for so long
Do you mind me asking - what exactly is t2?
And also.. will my age effect any of this? I'm 17, and next April turn 18. I know with some services that effects whether you can still receive help from them or not. Will it effect it at all? :/

Sorry I'm asking so many questions - don't worry about replying because I know I'm asking a lot. Thankyou again for your reply, you've been really helpful
It certainly would be funny if you ended up doing my paperwork, haha

tier1 is basically any work with a professional (for example your doctor). t2 is tier2 as mentioned above, it deals with emotional problems that sort of stuff. tier3 is more about suicidal and serious stuff. and tier4 is residential but i never really got told what goes on but i can guess

CAMHS generally work from 0-19 so you are well within the age range. if you parents dont know about this then I am pretty sure you can approve of the service yourself as you are old enough.
edit: MOST cases dont last too long before their issues are resolved, might get a course of 4-20 or so therapeutic sessions with a worker to help you. and maybe something on-going after that if they refer you to somewhere more specific but less involved just to maintain a small level of support.
be prepared to wait before getting your assessment done as their is a waiting list


They will keep it confidential and not tell anyone, you can have most of your sessions at school so it wouldnt be too hard to keep it from your parents.

If you happen to live in essex then I probably will, but I am not going to be working their for much longer

Any other questions, dont hesitate to ask! Good luck

[CitizenErased]

Originally Posted by Alexx

I've been seeing my doctor on and off for a few years about quite serious depression and anxiety issues. I also told her about my paranoia, and how I (irrationally) feel like people are watching me all the time.

She's now referred me to CAMHS.

I can honestly relate to all of that. But what is CAMHS? Im probably being sent to a Psychiatric Hospital for 12-18 year olds

[Prozac]

Originally Posted by CitzenErased

I can honestly relate to all of that. But what is CAMHS? Im probably being sent to a Psychiatric Hospital for 12-18 year olds

CAMHS is Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. When I went to CAMHS, the section was classed as a psychiatric hospital.

[cptdean]

Originally Posted by CitzenErased

I can honestly relate to all of that. But what is CAMHS? Im probably being sent to a Psychiatric Hospital for 12-18 year olds

Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (aka CAMHS) offers support to young people with emotional issues. With emotional issues being the general cause of the problem but this covers a wide range of different problems, for example behaviour or relationships or self harm but they have to have an underling emotional cause which in most cases they do.

You get referred by your school or GP in most cases and based on the severity you get assessed by different levels of the CAMHS operation (see my above post for basic tiers) and get offered different forms of support from your worker to help you overcome your issues, this can involve people from other organisations but CAMHS deal with that for you.

Just talk to whoever is referring you to the Psyciatric hospital as I am sure that they feel it is the best solution for you as they have the professional opinion

Thats a rough guide to the service and feel free to ask more questions or PM me if you need more help. I am replying from my CAMHS office right now so I should be working but I finished it early

[LastRedAppleStanding]

Well i've been seeing CAMHS for nearly a year now and i'm still confused :P
Tbh, i don't even know what they are. They saw me twice while i was in hospital for apparant 'attempted suicide' w.e. And then they didn't get in touch with me again. They closed to case on me, which was pretty stupid because when i got out of hospital my life turned for the worse.
Anyway, obviously the school knew everything and they got me put back in CAMHS care.

They're a bit shitty to be perfectly honest. I can say that i've probably been there around 6 times since March. While i see a school councillour every week. I've constantly been tossed around by other psychiatrists so i haven't been able to bond with any of them and one of them even left work and abandened me. Pretty shitty.

I had group therapy for TWO sessions. (really stupid) And when they called me back to tell me my 'progress' (WHICH THEY COULDN'T REALLY DO BECAUSE I WENT TWICE AND THEY DON'T KNOW ME!)


Anyway, i had a go at them telling them that they aren't doing anything to help me because they aren't they Yada yada. Broke down saying i couldn't do this shit anymore ect ect.

Now they are referring me to a psychologist (which is what i want to be) so that will be good practice, but that was a week ago and it will probably be another month before they get back in touch with me.
Good for nothing £$%^&*!!

Anyway, you should be fine. You just need to tell them there job.



I read one of the responses where it says "MOST cases dont last too long before their issues are resolved, might get a course of 4-20 or so therapeutic sessions with a worker to help you." Yeah, after one frigging session. I don't think they are thorough enough and they don't look deep enough. And we sure as hell don't get Art session Now i'm sad

[Prozac]

In response to the above post, it's true that CAMHS isn't the perfect service and I too had to insist for more help, after a lot of visits to different people, I began to have regular sessions with the same people. It's worth mentioning that there are different kinds of therapy. I had talking therapy which did keep me safe and allowed me to open up but in the long term, it did me more harm than good. Art therapy was not helpful to me. Medication was my breakthrough. It can take a lot more than 20 sessions. I had 3-4 sessions per week and as I've said, I was using the service for years. It takes time and a lot of effort. It's different for everyone.

[Unknown10]

Hey there,

I was under CAMHS's care just under 4 months ago. They are very helpful, and they actually help! I found it quite useful actually, be honest with your worker(s) they are there to listen and help you whilst you are going through this difficult time.

I got referred for serious depression and suicidal thoughts, which now I believe I am coping considerably well with. At first it is scary, but it is normal to be scared.

The Key is- Be truthful and they will help you the best they can.

PM me if you want anything.

Lex

[Obliviate]

hai alex

I got referred through my school to CAMHS. I was transferred onto tier 2 not long back because of some issues and everything was done so quickly and efficiantly.
basically it's nothing to be scared of.
You have an initial assessment which is to give the therapist a feel as to what you are struggling with.
My parent/s had to go with me because I am under 16.
But I don't think you should have to tell your parents.
Every so often, during your treatment. you will get another assessment to see how you are progressing.
It is a bit nerve racking. Telling a total stranger how you feel can be difficult..

but don't get yourself worked up over it. It'll be better than you expect.

<3