Children's Mental Health

Mental health issues are a serious concern for children as if left untreated, they can be both distressing for the young person and their family and they can impede the natural developmental stages of growing up. In most cases, children will be offered an assessment by their local Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service but sometimes children are not accepted into these services. For this reason - and because of waiting list times - families often want to look elsewhere for help. In addition, when children are involved in personal injury claims their therapeutic needs are often covered by the claim and can be referred into the Independent Sector.

Examples of children’s mental health difficulties include:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
• Low Self-Esteem
• Psychosis
• Eating Disorder
• Body Image Issues

Assessment Process

Assessments usually take place with the view of informing subsequent therapeutic interventions and if this is not the case, a formulation and management recommendations will be offered. An assessment will involve gathering information directly from the child through interview, questionnaires or play-based methods as well as engagement with the family, depending upon the child’s living situation, age and consent. Regular assessments of risk are also undertaken as a standard part of the process.