Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) North Cork
What is CAMHS?
CAMHS is a FREE specialist service for children and adolescents with serious emotional, behavioural or mental health difficulties. The service caters for young persons up to 16 years (or up to 18 if they are still in full-time education) who are residing in the North Cork catchment area.
Who uses our service?
The range of mental health difficulties experienced by children and teenagers is broad and may include anxiety, depression, psychosis, relationship difficulties and school related problems. The CAMHs team have experience in dealing with for example, eating disorders, self-harm and attempted suicide, school refusal, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and complex bereavement or separation.
How do you contact CAMHs?
If you are worried about your child’s behaviour or emotional wellbeing the first thing you could do is talk to someone who knows your child. This might be your doctor, teacher or public health nurse. Together you can then decide if you wish to make a referral.
You must be referred to CAMHs by a health professional who is familiar with your child or teenager. This will usually be your GP. We also accept referrals from other senior health professional such as public health nurse, social worker, speech and language therapist or educational psychologist through your child’s school.
Who is on the CAMHS team?
The CAMHs team in made up of health professionals who are experienced in working with children and teenagers with mental health difficulties.
The team consists of a Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist, Registrar, Clinical Psychologist, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Social Worker, Speech & Language Therapist, Occupational Therapist and Administrative Staff.
What help is available from CAMHS?
Often the most important help we offer is talking with and listening to you and your child. As the person who knows your child best, it maybe that you have the solution but you need sometime, space and outside assistance to find it. We can help you and your family gain a better understanding of your child’s problems, to give you confidence and direction in dealing with your child’s difficulties.
While each case is different some of the following approaches maybe recommended to you and your family:
- Individual work
- Family work
- Art & Play Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
- Group work
- Parenting Courses
- Social Skills Group
- Medication
Referral to in-patient service in available when required.
What to expect on your first visit to CAMHS
We usually invite both parents//guardians and child to attend for the first appointment. You will meet on or more members of the team. Sometimes we meet all the family together, other times we meet the parent(s) or child separately.
This will include asking questions about your child’s development, school progress, general health and relevant family history. In some situations we may discuss the possibility of a home visit and/or seek parent(s) permission to visit the child’s school.
All of this information is used to assess the difficulties and assists us in deciding how we might be of help.
The Team Approach at CAMHS
All CAMHS work is team focused. All assessments are discussed with the team. All of our interventions are planned by the team in collaboration with the young person and his or her family.
While the team’s approach is primarily child centred we work closely with parents and carers.
What to tell your child about CAMHS
It is best to be as open as possible with your child about coming here. Some parents tell their children that they are worried about them and would like advice on how to help them. Teenagers may be reluctant to see somebody or have concerns about what might happen once they arrive. If this occurs it might be helpful to telephone us and we can advise you.
How long will it take?
The waiting time for the service will depend on the severity of the need. Once seen, most problems don’t disappear overnight. Some problems may resolve very quickly and require only two or three meetings. However, in other instances, regular meeting over a period of months may be needed.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality for both the child and their family is an essential element of this service. Sometimes children/adolescents share information with their therapist that is kept in confidence. However, if concerns arise about the child’s safety and welfare then parents are informed and other services are necessary.
Feedback
We welcome feedback and suggestions regarding our services. If a service user is unhappy about any aspect of the service we encourage them to discuss the matter with us. You can also email any comments to yoursay@hse.ie or post comments on the website at www.hse.ie
Contact Details
Address: CAMHS, HSE South, 31/32 Fair Street, Mallow, Co. Cork
Telephone: 022-44970 Fax: 022-20851
Outreach Clinics:
We also have outreach clinics as and when required in Mitchelstown, Fermoy, Millstreet, Kanturk and Charleville.
Emergency Service:
An emergency service operates after 5pm and at weekends. If there is an urgent concern about a young person in the evening or at weekends the parents are advised to contact the G.P or on-call service (South Doc). who will arrange for an emergency assessment usually at the A&E department of the Mercy University Hospital or Cork University Hospital.