Moving on from CAMHS

There are many reasons why moving on from CAMHS may considered the right thing to do. 
Examples include:  

• Our service may not be the best ‘fit’ for you at this stage and other places viewed as more suitable for you
• You may have only been offered a certain type of treatment or a set number of sessions and that is coming to an end
• Your treatment, recovery or care plan may be complete
• Your care plan may have changed to reflect changes in your circumstances. There may now be other services that are more helpful for you given your current needs
• You may be leaving the area to live elsewhere
• You are approaching your 18th birthday and are old enough to transition to adult mental health services.
    

We recognise that, for some people, it can be an uncertain and worrying time. At an appropriate time, moving on from our service will be discussed with you and your family.

Getting ready

We use a simple 'readiness questionnaire' to prompt you to talk about how you feel about being discharged. This helps us understand and consider how we can best support you through this transition. 

Ideally, moving on from CAMHS should be a joint decision between you, the people you are working with and your parents or carers (if appropriate). It may involve discussions about how much improvement you’ve made, in terms of working through the problems that you may have experienced or working towards the goals that you set initially. 

Your feedback

We try our best to prepare you for moving on. Let us know what you think you need, or what ideas you have to help you through the process. Call us on 0300 7900 264.

Informing you about discharge

You will be given notice of when your appointments are coming to an end and/or you will be discharged. If this is not possible in person for whatever reason then a letter will be sent to you.
 

There are sometimes limits to how long CAMHS can work with you. 

‘Endings’ can often be difficult, especially when you have found the support you received to be helpful. It can be scary to think about how you may cope in the future. Alternatively, you may feel that things are coming to a natural end and you are ready to move on.

Working through this transition and what this brings up for you is an important aspect of your journey. It can often be very empowering when you consider how far you have come. 

Here are some things to consider:

• Talk to your worker - tell them why you think it would be helpful for you to continue working with them
• If you don’t feel able to do this on your own, ask your parent or carer to help
• Be open to hearing the views of your worker. They have got to know you and may offer a different perspective
• Look back on the all the things you’ve learnt about yourself and how you’ve successfully managed your difficulties before
• With your worker, try and think of ideas and ways that you could manage once you’ve been discharged. Think about what your life might look like after support from CAMHS has ended
• It can be easy to forget things. Having something written down which you can refer to in the future can help both you and those that care for you
• Your worker can help you to create something personal to you. It can be called various things such as a wellbeing plan, safety plan, moving on plan or discharge plan. This might be provided as a separate document for you to keep or be included in a letter.

Your appointments may be ending because you are moving to another service, including adult mental health services (AMHS). Or they may be ending because you are moving to another area.

If so, your worker should be able to work with you and your new service to ensure that the transition is as smooth as possible for you.  

Please speak to your worker: ask them questions about the new service and tell them about your concerns. They can contact the team running your new service and get answers answers for you. 

You can still seek help from existing services that may still be working with you. As part of your 'moving on' or discharge plan, sometimes called a wellbeing/recovery plan or safety plan, you may have been given a specific phone number or person to call if you need help. If you were given a phone number or person to call, use that contact first. 

What if I feel that’s not enough?

If this is the case, your GP (doctor) should be your first point of contact. As your family doctor, they will know your medical history and will be able to decide the best action to take. 

Support at school

If you are under 16 and still at school or in education, your school health team (school nurses) can also be a valuable part of your transition from CAMHS. If you are over 16, and are at college or in the sixth form, your student support services can also help you access similar resources that might help.

They can help you access other things such as your local MAT (multi-agency team) or Children and Young People’s Services if appropriate. 

There are often other forms of support available in your local community. However these can change over time and so it’s best to ask someone who knows your local area well, such as your GP or your school nurse.

Below are examples of other resources that might be helpful to you.

Psychological therapy services ('talking therapies')

There’s a choice of therapy providers in Derbyshire. All are free of charge and you can self refer:

Insight Healthcare (16+)
Telephone: 0300 555 5582
Email: east.midlands@insighthealthcare.org
Visit the Insight Healthcare website 

Talking Mental Health Derbyshire (16+)
Telephone: 0300 123 0542
Email: dhcft.talking@nhs.net
Visit the Talking Mental Health Derbyshire website

Trent PTS (Psychological Therapies Service) (16+)
Telephone: 01332 265 659
Visit the Trent PTS website

VitaMinds
Telephone: 0333 0153 496 
Email: iapt.derbyshire@nhs.net  
Visit the VitaMinds website. 

Please visit our help in a crisis page, which includes details of several helplines that you can call.

Other services that are just for children and young people or their families include:

ChildLine - can be used in a crisis

• Telephone: 0800 1111 - 24 hours a day
• Visit the ChildLine website

Family Lives (for parents/carers)

• Telephone: 0808 800 222 - 9am to 9pm Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm Saturday and Sunday.
• Visit the Family Lives website

Papyrus Hopeline (for young people up to age of 35)

• Telephone: 0800 068 4141 - 10am to 10pm Monday to Friday, 2pm to 10pm Saturday, Sunday and bank holidays
• Visit the Papyrus website

Young Minds (general information/support)

• Parents helpline: 0808 802 5544 - 9.30am to 4pm Monday to Friday
• Visit the Young Minds website

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities 

• A searchable database of information 
• Visit the Local Offer Derbyshire website or the Local Offer Derby website.