Getting help
Parents
Getting Help
For many people, the idea of intervening in a mental health crisis might be a daunting prospect due to fear of saying the wrong thing or making matters worse. However, Youth Mental Health First Aid England have compiled a helpful list of contacts and websites that could help you, or a young person in need, find the advice they need.
Youth Mental Health First Aid
Many services contribute to the mental health and emotional wellbeing of a child or young person. Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) consist of a range of specialist trained specifically to promote emotional and mental health wellbeing in children, young people and their families.
Referrals to CAMHS are usually arranged through GPs and other healthcare professionals. In some circumstances, teachers can also make referrals.
Useful apps:
Dragon in the Attic (aims to encourage children how to make healthy choices for their bodies and minds) http://dragonapp.me/play
Headspace (teaches mindfulness and meditation to improve wellbeing) www.headspace.com
Depression and Anxiety
Depression affects emotions, thinking, behaviour and physical wellbeing. It impacts individuals in many ways.
Anxiety is usually caused by environmental factors, medical factors, genetics, brain chemistry, or a combination of these. Usually, anxiety is a response to outside forces, but it is also possible that young people make themselves anxious with ‘negative self-talk’ – a habit of always telling themselves the worst will happen.
Useful apps:
Positive Penguins (helps children understand their feelings and challenge negative thinking. http://positivepenguins.com
Suicide and Psychosis
Suicidal behaviour exists along a continuum from thinking about ending one’s life to developing a plan, to non-fatal suicidal behaviour, to ending one’s life.
Psychosis is a general term to describe a mental health issue in which a young person experiences changes in thinking, perception, mood and behaviour which can severely disrupt their life. The main psychotic diagnoses are: bipolar disorder, psychotic depression, and schizophrenia.
Useful apps:
YoungMinds Parents’ Helpline (offers free confidential online and telephone support to any adult worried about the emotional problems, behaviour or mental health of a child or young person. www.youngminds.co.uk/find-help/for-parents/parents-helpline/ 0808 802 5544
Self-harm and Eating Disorders
Self-harm is a behaviour and not an illness. People self-harm to cope with emotional distress or to communicate that they are distressed.
Eating disorders involve a disturbance of eating habits or weight-control behaviour which results in impairment to physical health or which affects the person’s psychological and social functioning.
Useful apps:
Selfharmuk (dedicated to supporting young people impacted by self-harm, providing a safe space to talk and ask questions. www.selfharm.uk
Anorexia and Bulemia Care (Provides personal advice and support to anyone affected by an eating disorder). www.anorexiaandbulemiacare.org.uk
