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Child/Young Person presents to referral agent, usually GP, and if deemed appropriate a referral is sent and reviewed by the CAMHS Team.  Other approved referral agents include Pediatricians,  Consultant Psychiatrists, or emergency department Doctors. These agents must inform the relevant GP of any referral made to CAMHS.

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A number of factors are considered by the CAMHS team upon receiving a referral - clinical presentation of the young person, other services involved with the child and family, level of social and family support present, and possible treatment options at a primary care level or within community networks.

To reach the threshold for CAMHS, the mental health disorder of the young person must be moderate to severe.

If the referral does not meet the criteria for CAMHS, other services may be referred to- primary care, teen counselling, family support services, etc.

If the referral is accepted then it must be classifies as emergency, urgent or routine.

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After a referral is accepted, a date will be arranged for an initial assessment. The aim of this is to gather background information about this child, their family, history and to gain a general understanding of the presenting problems. Sometimes, the parents and child are seen separately during this session to gather as much info as possible. IA's are typically completed by a Consultant/Registrar Doctor and another member of the MDT. Once the IA is complete, a plan for the child is made and discussed with the family. A key work is also assigned to the child at this time, typically the member of the MDT who completed the IA.

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Once a key worker has been assigned to a young person, an Individual Care Plan (ICP) is made is collaboration with the young person. They will get a copy of this and so will their parents to keep them informed over what the plan is and who is responsible for carrying out the work.
From here, any member of the MDT may carry out a piece of work with this child as appropriate- from Registrar Doctors, to Social Workers, to Speech and Language Therapists.These interventions are usually given a time-frame so they can be reviewed and adapted if necessary. The young person is always given a say in their treatment.
CAMHS also carries out work with the wider family regularly. Sometimes it can be hard for parents to understand why they are being involved in the treatment but although families are not always the cause of mental health difficulties, they can almost always be a part of the solution. This work with parents and wider families is often undertaken by a Social Worker, but could also be done by any other clinician on the team.
Some children only require a few sessions at CAMHS to resolve the presenting issues, while others might attend the service over the course of a few years.

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During a young person's time at CAMHS, their ICP will be reviewed at least every 6 months to make sure the goals are still appropriate/form new goals.

When cases are reviewed, it might be decided by clinicians, or at the MDT meeting that a service user is ready for discharge. If this is because they are about to turn 18, a transition plan should be made at least six month before their 18th birthday to plan to move to adult mental health services. Not all adolescents will require this.

A child or young person may  be discharged if they have achieved their goals in the service, they are not benefiting or engaging in the service,  or if their needs are better met in another service.
A discharge summary is made and shared with the family, and a discharge meeting will be held to recap and discuss any supports which might be needed after discharge.

Families are always advised that a young person can be re-referred back to the service at any time should they need it.