What do we do?

Our Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) provides care and therapy for children and young people, aged 0-18 years, who may be experiencing a range of severe and complex difficulties with their emotional and mental health. We also work with the families or carers of the young people we work with, when appropriate. We often work closely with other relevant services like schools, colleges or local authority Children and Young People’s Services (CYPS) as they may be able to offer other types of help and support.

CAMHS provides care to children and young people across Devon, excluding Torbay and Plymouth who are catered for by Torbay and Southern Devon Health and Care Trust and Plymouth NHS Trust, respectively. We see children and young people who are registered with a Devon GP although this includes those who may live over the border in the Torbay or Plymouth regions.

Who do we see?

We see children and young people who have the following types of difficulties:

• Anxiety disorders
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Depression (moderate to severe)
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Eating disorders
• Self-harming
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC)
• Tics and Tourette’s Syndrome
• Severe attachment, emotional and behavioural disorders

Who are we?

CAMHS clinicians are appropriately qualified and have experience in a variety of fields including Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Clinical Psychology, Occupational Therapy, Psychotherapy, Family Therapy, Mental Health Nursing, Creative Therapies, Social Work or Youth Work.

How to access:

Referrals are accepted from all agencies and directly from young people or their parents/ carers.

Parents/ carers referral form – COMING SOON

Referrals should be sent in to the service via the locality offices listed below:

Eastern Devon CAMHS including Exeter, East and Mid Devon

Crispin Taylor, CAMHS Manager
Evergreen House
Victoria Park Road
Exeter
EX2 4NU
Tel: 01392 208600

Northern Devon CAMHS

Lucy Jay, CAMHS Manager
Springfield Court
Fishleigh Road

RoundswellBusinessPark

Barnstaple

EX31 3UD

Tel: 01271 384000

Southern Devon CAMHS including west Devon but excluding Plymouth and Torbay

Lyn Davis, CAMHS Manager
Lescaze Office
Shinners Bridge
Dartington, near Totnes
TQ9 6JE
Tel: 01803 763500 

How to access service outside of working hours – the Emergency Duty Service

Tel: 0845 6000388

Available Monday – Thursday from 5.00pm – 9.00am next day

And Fridays from 4.00pm throughout every weekend and all bank holidays until 9.00am on the next working day.

The Emergency Duty Service will discharge Devon County Council’s statutory social care responsibilities whilst ensuring public safety, by providing an emergency social care crisis response outside of normal working office hours.

The Emergency Duty Service can be contacted by adults, children, service users with mental health issues or learning disabilities, their families and carers plus concerned other parties such as neighbours or any individuals wishing to report important information or social care concerns about Devon residents or social care users.

We will respond to requests where there is a likelihood of harm without some help being offered, and those situations that cannot wait until the next working day.

How CAMHS works:

CAMHS uses a service user-focused approach called the Choice and Partnership model. When a referral is accepted we contact the young person or family to offer an initial appointment, called Choice. 

Choice refers to the collaborative discussion between young people, families and clinical staff. We aim to develop a plan that will take into account the wishes and needs of the young person, whilst offering the best possible clinical options for treatment. Once this is arranged the young person/ family will be sent a confirmation letter along with a Strengths and Difficulties questionnaire (SDQ).  It is helpful to have this questionnaire completed and returned to us before the initial Choice appointment.

The appointment lasts approximately one hour and in this time we will ask questions and talk to you about your concerns and difficulties as well as the positives and strengths in your life. This will help us to understand your hopes and desires for change.

Whilst we prefer young people to attend the initial appointment with their parents or carers (where appropriate) you will be offered the opportunity to have some individual time.

Working together with the young person and/ or the parent/ carer, we explore whether or not our service is best placed to help or if another service would be more appropriate for your needs. By the end of the appointment we will have agreed with the young person / family what will happen next.  This plan is noted in the Choice paperwork and a copy is sent to the young person or parent/ carer (as appropriate). A copy is also sent to the referrer and GP and to other professionals involved, with consent from the young person or parent/ carer.

If it is agreed that CAMHS is best placed to provide a service or if more specialist care is needed, a further appointment will be offered.  These further appointments - generally up to six sessions - are called Partnership. This represents our endeavour to work in partnership with young people and their families to achieve the best possible outcomes. The Partnership appointments will last approximately one hour each and are designed to help young people/ families achieve set goals. These meetings could be with the whole family, the young person on their own or with just the parents/ carers. Sometimes these meetings may also include other specialist professionals that are mutually felt to be helpful.

It is important to us to be able to see whether we are helping so we will ask for your help in completing questionnaires regularly. These will help us to both understand your difficulties and to see if we are making a difference. We are happy to discuss these with you in more detail.

We work in a variety of different settings e.g. health centres, family centres, GP surgeries, schools and occasionally in homes.

Confidentiality:

You have the right to expect that all information given to us in confidence will be used only for the purpose of which it was given.  Information about you will not be given to others without your permission.  However, in exceptional circumstances - for example, if we feel there is a risk of harm from, or to, others, or if there may be child protection/ safeguarding concerns -confidentiality may be broken.  If it does become necessary to share information gained in the course of our work with other professionals that information will be kept in strict professional confidence.

A note on Child Protection
If you are concerned that a child is at risk of harm from physical, sexual, emotional abuse or neglect, you must refer in the first instance to MASH (Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub).  For more information on Safeguarding Children click here