Mental Health Support Team (MHST)

You may be familiar with the term CAMHS, which stands for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. We are moving away from using 'CAMHS' and these services are now known as Children and Young People's Mental Health Services - or CYPMHS.

Mental Health Support Teams are a part of this CYPMHS and provide a service for children and young people. They support their mental health needs in school.

They work with primary school children and some secondary school pupils. In both cases, they have mild to moderate mental health issues. Mild mental health issues cause a few symptoms. They have a small effect on daily life. Moderate mental health issues have more symptoms. They can make daily life much harder.

What support do the Mental Health Support Teams provide?

  • Groups for young people and their parents or carers. The groups last for 6-8 weeks.

  • One-to-one work with young people in primary schools. They can work with their parents too.

  • Whole-class and assembly workshops.

  • Training for school staff.

I’m worried about my child’s mental health - who do I speak to?

Every primary school has a Mental Health Lead who can refer to our team. You can speak to them if you're worried about your child. They can talk to our team to find the best course of action. We welcome self-referrals. But we prefer referrals from your child's school, as these may be quicker.

We will ask you for permission to talk to your child's school when you refer yourself. This is to give the best support, either from MHST, the school, or a different local service.

How do I make a self-referral?

Young people and their parents or carers can make a self-referral. Follow this link to the referral form on the My Mind website.

What can we do while we are waiting for support?

The My Mind website can link you to resources and training for parents and professionals.

There is also a section for children and young people.

Click on the logo at the top of this page and it will take you to the My Mind homepage.

SENDLO Top Tip

Sometimes it can feel as though there is a lot of information to read and understand. Think about your day. Find a 10-15 minute slot where you can look through the website. Write down things that interest you and plan another time to look at them in more detail.

Parent and Carer Peer Support.

Mind Over Natter - Peer Led, Professionally supported

Crea8ing Community host 3 weekly support groups for parents and carers of children and young people who have mental health needs or are neurodivergent.

Full details of these groups are in ‘What’s On’.