Who are Manchester CAMHS for Looked After Children?
The Manchester CAMHS team for Looked After Children is a CAMHS team for children and young people cared for by Manchester City Council.
CAMHS stands for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. We are an NHS service that offers support and treatment for children and young people, aged up to 18 years old, who are experiencing difficulties with their mental health and wellbeing. The service also works with their parents, foster carers and social workers/residential workers.
A member of the team will work together with you and those who care for you (where appropriate), to create a plan for how best to support you. This plan is different for every person, as everyone we see has different needs and things they want to work on with us.
Our People
- Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Service Lead
Kate Bonser - Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Residential Service Lead
Liz Bailey - Admin lead
Gillian Dunphy
Manchester CAMHS Looked After Children Locations
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Most referrals are made by Social Workers but we also accept referrals from GPs, other health professionals, school or via a self-referral.
Before a referral has been made, given the importance of consent, it is essential that the referral to our service has been discussed with whoever has parental consent which is usually the parent and/or social worker. The referral also needs to be discussed with you so that everyone is aware and understands.
The referrer and GP (where the GP is not the referrer) and Community Paediatrician (where appropriate) will be informed:
- if the referral is not accepted and why
- if the referred does not opt in to an offered appointment or does not attend an appointment and there are no Safeguarding/Risk issues identified and so closed
- of the outcome of the assessment and treatment plan
- of updates to the treatment plan when amended or discharged.
Waiting Times
All referrals, once they confirm attendance, are seen within 11 weeks for routine referrals. Emergencies are seen the same day and Urgent within 2 weeks. Referrals are screened daily by a Duty Practitioner with referral information used to determine priority of being seen.
Frequently Asked Questions
You could be asked about a range of things including:
- What are the difficulties you are experiencing?
- How things were for you growing up?
- Who do you live with at the moment?
- Do you have friends or supportive people around you?
- What does your daily life looks like?
- What are you most concerned about?
It is up to you what you tell the clinicians, and you can take things at your own pace.
When we receive a referral, we usually discuss this further with your social worker so we can be clear about who else is involved and how we can help. An appropriate clinician will initially meet with you to gather information on your current difficulties, school, family and more. They will do this by asking questions with yourself, parent/carers and possibly other people, such as school and GP. This will then lead to a plan about the next step – this may be seeing you for more assessment, some therapeutic work or we may work with your carer or residential staff instead so they can support you. What we offer this varies from person to person, but they will support you through the options and talk things through with you.
Confidentiality means that information shared between you and the clinician will not be shared with others unless they are concerned that you are at risk to yourself/others, that you are at risk from others or that someone else is at risk/harm. If we need to share information, the clinician will talk about this with you 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.
The clinicians may ask questions about your life, however, you do not have to go over things unless you wish to and we can also talk to your social worker too if you would prefer.
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.
If you are under 16 a parent or carer must accompany you to CAMHS. If you are over 16 you can attend on your own, but this can vary depending on the professional’s concerns.
No! Clinicians will see you on your own if this is what you wish for.
That’s ok! We understand it can be difficult to talk about yourself and what you are experiencing. It may take a few sessions to feel comfortable with the clinicians, we recognise this and will not pressure you to talk. We can also provide alternative ways to communicate such as using a whiteboard, drawing, using prompts/cards and more.