All About..

Central Manchester CAMHS

Who are Central Manchester CAMHS?

CAMHS stands for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. We are an NHS service that offers support and treatment to children and young people up to 18 years old who are experiencing challenges with their mental health and wellbeing. We also support parents, carers, and families of these children and young people.

Our People

  • Service Manager
    Andrea Wise
  • Lead Psychiatrist
    Dr Shamik Chudasama
  • Lead Psychologist
    Dr Catherine Kay

Central Manchester CAMHS Location

    Address:

    The Winnicott Centre, 195-197 Hathersage Road, Manchester, M13 0JE

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    Contact Details:

    0161 701 6880

    How to get to us:

    By bus: 11, 14, 15, 16, 41, 42, 43, 46, 48, 111, 142, 143 (Hathersage Road, Whitworth Park, or St Mary bus stops)
    By train: The nearest station is Manchester Oxford Road.

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Access to Central Manchester CAMHS

Referrals can be made by a GP, school, or through self-referral. Before making a referral, please ensure it has been discussed and agreed with the young person and their parent or carer, if appropriate.

All referrals are screened by a Duty Practitioner to help decide how quickly someone should be seen.

If someone like your GP, school, or another professional has made your referral, we’ll let them know what happens next. For example, we’ll tell them:

  • if another service is considered more appropriate to meet you/your child’s needs
  • if you decide not to take up an appointment or don’t attend, and there are no safety concerns
  • what the outcome of your assessment is and what support or plan is agreed
  • if your plan changes or when you’re discharged from CAMHS

CAMHS stands for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. We are an NHS service that offers support and treatment to children and young people up to 18 years old who are experiencing complex and severe mental health difficulties that significantly affects daily life. We also support parents, carers, and families of these children and young people.

Self Referral Form Professional Referral Form

Waiting Times

It can be difficult waiting for support having been referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). We are committed to seeing children and young people as soon as possible and strive to keep our waiting times as low as possible, however these can depend on the current demand for services and staffing levels.

Central Manchester CAMHS – Waiting Times

While you wait

While waiting for CAMHS you can use self-care strategies and access online support. Please contact your GP or your CAMHS team if your condition worsens whilst waiting for CAMHS support.

Stories

Would you like to know what other young people and their parents or carers think of their experiences of the team? Take a look at this feedback written by young people and parents or carers.

Frequently Asked Questions

At your first appointment, you’ll meet someone from our Duty and Assessment team. They’ll chat with you (and your parent or carer if needed) to learn more about what’s been going on — things like school, family, and how you’ve been feeling.

Sometimes, we might also talk to other people who know you, like your school or GP, but we’ll always discuss this with you first.

After this, we’ll decide together what the next steps might be. You could be:

  • referred to a team such as the Partnership team, ADHD team, or Social Communication Pathway
  • offered support from a psychiatrist
  • or signposted to another service that might be a better fit, like 42nd Street

If you’re referred for ongoing support (like CBT), there may be a bit of a wait — but once you’re seen, your worker will explain what will happen next and work with you to find the right type of support.

We have a range of interventions available which have been identified by research and young people's experience as being helpful; such as cognitive behavioural therapy, a creative therapy group, family therapy and more. Your CAMHS worker will chat with you and explore what support feels right for you.

What you share with your worker stays private unless they’re worried about your safety or someone else’s. If they need to share something, they’ll always talk with you about it first and you can share how you want this to be discussed.

Nothing is expected of you other than turning up! Over time workers may ask you to complete tasks, but this will not happen straight away.

You may be worried about going to a new place and meeting new people, including CAMHS. You may have some questions you want to ask during your CAMHS appointment.

There are some examples of questions you may find helpful to ask on the YoungMinds website.

Sharing the worries and challenges you face in your life can feel pretty scary. We know it isn’t easy to trust people you don’t know, but we want you to know that whatever you’re facing, we are here to make sure you’re not alone.

You might meet lots of different people at CAMHS — like psychiatrists, psychologists, mental health practitioners, therapists, nurses, and more. Everyone has a different role, but we all work together and are here to support you.

We will ask if there is anything we can do to make the session more comfortable. We can offer fidget toys, bean bags to sit in, pillows and more. Feel free to bring you own items too i.e. fidget toys, to make you feel more comfortable.

The workers may ask questions about your life to gain more insight; however, you do not have to recall your whole life story unless you wish to.

You can tell us what name and pronouns you’d like us to use, and we’ll make sure to use them in your sessions. Just let your worker know when you meet them — we want you to feel comfortable and respected.

If you’re under 16, a parent or carer must come with you. If you’re over 16, you can come alone if you prefer.