Camden CAMHS Wellbeing Team, OpenMinded

(We are able to provide this information in any language you require or in other formats such as large text. Please speak to your clinician or email businesssupport@tavi-port.nhs.uk and we will arrange this.)

Service description

The Camden CAMHS Wellbeing Team is part of Camden CAMHS based at the Tavistock Centre. We see children and young people and family where there a mild to moderate concerns about anxiety, low mood and challenging behaviour.

Emotions such as anxiety, sadness and anger are normal and most young people will struggle with occasional worries, times when they feel sad or feel frustrated with themselves, parents, teachers and friends. Our team provides support when these difficulties begin to negatively impact upon relationships, school and activities you previously enjoyed. When children and young people struggle with their emotions, other aspects of life such as sleep and concentration can become difficult. It is often beneficial to get some help early on with these difficulties.

We provide a structured brief intervention approach usually over 6-8 sessions both in group and individual formats. We aim to support you to develop the coping skills to be able to manage the difficulties both now and in the future. Our interventions are based on what research has found to be effective with the difficulties you are seeking help with.

For primary school aged children our interventions are primarily with the parent or carer as this is what research has shown to be most effective. For adolescents in secondary school our interventions are with the young person but also include parents and carers.

What to expect

When you come to our service you will meet with one or two practitioners at the first meeting. We will get to know you and will be interested to hear about your family, school, friendships and what is important to you. We will also ask about the difficulties that you have been experiencing. We will tell you more about the help we offer and recommend, ask what help you would like and decide on a support plan; this is called a care plan. We will share this care plan with your GP.

There may be a short wait between your assessment appointment and intervention sessions. You will be given the name of care-coordinator during this time who you can contact if you are struggling or need to update us about changes in your wellbeing.

When your intervention starts you will meet with the same practitioner each week for an hour either on zoom or in person (we will discuss these options with you). These sessions will be structured but also collaborative which means you decide together on what to focus upon and you get a chance to speak about what is important to you.

Who you’ll meet

When you come to the Wellbeing Team you will meet with a wellbeing practitioner who is trained in parenting or cognitive behavioural therapy.