For all young people in Hampshire to become more aware, more motivated and more empowered to make choices that enhance their health and well being.
Hampshire CAMHS help young people and their families. Every clinician (someone who sees and treats young people) who works at CAMHS is able to provide high quality assessments and treatments (called ‘interventions’).
Sometimes young people benefit from seeing a number of different clinicians. Your clinician will work with you and your family to agree the best treatment options, based on what difficulties you are experiencing, what goals you would like to achieve and what the evidence tells us will be most helpful in overcoming your difficulties. To make a referral to Hampshire Specialist CAMHS, click here.
Carers and Patients Support Hub
If you need further support, signposting or just someone to listen, please contact the Carers and Patients Support Hub.
Email: CarersandPatientsSupportHub@southernhealth.nhs.uk
Call: 023 8231 1206
Compliments and concerns
It is really important to hear feedback, compliments and concerns from patients carers and families. Feedback helps us know where things have gone well, respond to any problems, and to keep improving our service.
Email: complaints@southernhealth.nhs.uk
Call: 023 8231 1200
Or write to us at: Complaints Team/Carers and Patients Support Hub, 7 Sterne Road, Tatchbury Mount, Calmore, Southampton SO40 2RZ
The NHS wants to deliver services that align more closely to the area where you live. The aim is to understand the needs of local people and deliver services to meet these needs. As a result of these plans, the Hampshire Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) transferred over to new providers on 1 February 2024. Services in North East Hampshire transferred to Surrey & Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. CAMHS services in all other parts of Hampshire transferred to Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust.
Subsequent to this, on 1 October 2024, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust became part of a new, combined community, mental health and learning disabilities trust for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, called Hampshire & IOW Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. You can find out more about the new Trust here: Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
Although CAMHS services are now provided by different NHS providers, you shouldn’t notice any change to the way your care is delivered.
Psychiatrists are medical doctors who work with people with mental and emotional health difficulties. They provide specialist assessments, can diagnose a mental illness and use a range of medications to help a person recover. A Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist works with young people and their families to better understand what is going on for them, to provide information and advice, as well as helping put together a care plan. They work closely with your allocated clinician and with other team members to ensure you are well supported.
All our nurses are specialist mental health nurses which means that they have chosen to specialise in mental health during their career. Our nurses have a range of skills and many have completed additional training in assessing and treating both physical and mental health needs. They offer a range of therapeutic interventions, including prescribing medication to best meet your needs.
Clinical and Counselling Psychologists are trained to assess and treat young people with mental health difficulties by using a range of approaches. Psychologists mainly use talking therapies to understand and help young people, their families and support networks to achieve their goals, and make changes that improve their health and wellbeing. Psychologists work together with young people to find a joint understanding of the difficulties and help young people to develop skills and techniques to manage and overcome these difficulties.
Primary Mental Health Workers offer short term focused work with young people, their families, schools and other organisations to help young people achieve their goals. They often see people in the community or at their school, as well as at the CAMHS clinic. Primary Mental Health workers also focus on providing early intervention, advice and consultation to others who work with and support young people.
Child and Adolescent psychotherapy is a way of helping to make sense of and process difficult or confusing feelings, thoughts, memories and experiences in a safe and calm space. This therapy can help young people understand their self-beliefs and feelings and have a positive effect on their emotions, thoughts, behaviour, and relationships.
Art Therapists offer a form of psychotherapy that uses art within communication and expression. Using art materials, the aim is to help a young person to understand their feelings and change, improving self-confidence and self-esteem.
We have a number of therapists who specialise in providing therapeutic support and to young people who are fostered, adopted or live in children’s homes. Our Children in Care Therapists also provide support, therapy and training to care givers, and will work closely with agencies, such as Children’s Services, to make sure the voice of the young person is heard and that the young person is able to access the help, support and therapy that they may need.
Drama therapy is a unique form of psychotherapy in which creativity, play, movement, voice, storytelling, dramatisation, and the performance arts have a central position within the therapeutic relationship. Play therapists use play as a child’s natural way to express themselves and explore their feelings, playing and working through worrying thoughts and emotions.
Mental health difficulties can have a big impact on the whole family, not just the young person who has been referred to CAMHS. Family therapists can help families to explore each other’s experiences and views, appreciate each other’s needs, build on strengths and make useful changes in their relationships and lives.
An occupational therapist works with a young person to help them achieve their goals, and improve or maintain skills for day-to-day activities and overall well-being.
Support workers work alongside and with a young persons’ main clinician, to provide additional help and support both practically and emotionally. This can be useful if young people and families are really struggling and need extra support or advice. They will often see a young person and families at home, at school or in the community to help them achieve specific goals as part of the care plan.
A dietician provides individual information and advice around food and nutrition, particularly for people who have specific dietary requirements or difficulties with eating, food or dietary conditions.
CAMHS also support many clinicians who are training to become qualified in their chosen profession (such as student nurses, trainee doctors, trainee psychologists). We often have students and trainees on placement who may ask to join assessments, therapy or provide therapy. A young person will be asked permission for students and trainees to join any appointment or to provide treatment. All students and trainees are supervised closely by qualified senior members of the team.
All our clinicians are supported by a big ‘behind the scenes’ team of managers and admin staff. A young person may have contact with receptionists when you come for appointments and administration staff if you call or email CAMHS. If you have a compliment or would like to make a complaint about the service you have received, you may have contact with a CAMHS manager.
