Supporting young people with emotional, behavioural and mental health difficulties.
Your child may be unable to explain way they feel this way and asking why can add to a sense of guilt, the feeling that they don’t deserve to feel this way. (Although a gentler exploration of what may have contributed can be helpful.)
Above all reassuring them they are loved and valued and that you will be there for them will be a great help.
And as a family member or friend trust your instincts. If your concern is growing don’t ignore your concerns. Speak to your GP, to CAMHS or contact one of the organisations listed. And if help is needed urgently follow the advice above.
These FAQs have been suggested by parents and carers in our service who would have found this information useful to have known at the beginning of their CAMHS journey. We’ve worked together to put this information together for you.
Every child is different. Understanding your child can seem like a challenge at times.
Listening to what they have to say and trying to be empathetic of how they are feeling is the best thing to do.
You should try not to undermine or brush off how they are feeling as this may make them feel like you don’t understand how they are feeling or what they are saying.
Sometimes teenagers do want to spend more time in their room, or not want to eat with the family so it can be tricky not reading into it.
If you notice that there has been a change in your child’s mood or behaviours and it’s affecting their day to day life e.g. not going to school or college, change of eating patterns, isolating themselves from peers/family, not taking care of their appearance etc then maybe speak to school to see if they’ve had similar concerns or give us a call to get some advice over the phone.
Speaking about mental health as a family is important and can help to reassure you’re child that they are able to share their worries or concerns if they need to.
Knowing what or what not to say depends on the condition and also the child.
For example specifically young people with eating disorders find that comments around their appearance, such as “you are looking well” or around their weight are comments that should not be made as this may be interpreted wrong or could just generally upset the child.
Depending on the child, some young people may not like any comments about their mental health being made, however it does depend specifically on how well your child is coping with their mental health and how much they have come to terms with their condition.
Having a conversation with your child about what they feel is acceptable and what comments they would like to be avoided may be a good way to help yourself and your child in these situations.
Depending on the child, you may feel that a conversation is needed to discuss what caused the distress, and what could be done to have that distress avoided or contained when it begins.
However some children may not want to talk specifically about the situation that had occurred, if this is the case offer to make them a favourite drink or food, and try to make the situation and surroundings as comfortable as possible. For example
For more ideas look up ideas around self-soothing.
Depending on your child, it may be a good idea to put a plan in place together, for when your child is in distress. This can include what they feel is the best thing for you to do or say.
If you don’t have a plan in place, then try and calm your child down, using a soothing voice. Keep talking to them and keep them alert and in the space with you.
It’s very common for children in distress to disassociate themselves from the situation.
Depending on the child and the situation, you could try given them a hug; studies have shown that when someone in distress is close to someone who is calm that it helps them to calm down.
With online forums and peer influence, there is only so much you can do to stop this situation, at the end of it all, it’s the child’s decision around their actions with this, however there are a few steps you can do at home to restrict their access to these things. For example:
Communication around mental health can be hard for both young people and parents.
If your child doesn’t feel comfortable talking face to face about what is going on, then possibly looking at other forms of communication may be an option. For example:
Listen. Simply giving someone space to talk, and listening to how they’re feeling, can be really helpful in itself. If they’re finding it difficult, let them know that you’re there when they are ready.
Offer reassurance. Seeking help can feel lonely, and sometimes scary. You can reassure someone by letting them know that they are not alone, and that you will be there to help.
Stay calm. Even though it might be upsetting to hear that someone you care about is distressed, try to stay calm. This will help your friend or family member feel calmer too, and show them that they can talk to you openly without upsetting you.
Be patient. You might want to know more details about their thoughts and feelings, or want them to get help immediately. But it’s important to let them set the pace for seeking support themselves.
Try not to make assumptions. Your perspective might be useful to your friend or family member, but try not to assume that you already know what may have caused their feelings, or what will help.
Keep social contact. Part of the emotional support you offer could be to keep things as normal as possible. This could include involving your friend or family member in social events, or chatting about other parts of your lives.
Learn more about the problem they experience, to help you think about other ways you could support them. Our website provides lots of information about different types of mental health problems, including pages on what friends and family can do to help in each case.
You can read more here about the roles of the different members of the team at CAMHS and what they all do in their day to day job.
We are not allowing visitors to any of our hospital or inpatient sites in order to protect our patients and staff who care for them from the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus).
This is with effect from Monday 23 March 2020 until further notice.