Social, emotional and mental health

If you're worried about a child or young person, encouraging them to talk can be very helpful whether you're a family member, friend or teacher.

If you’re worried about your mental health, telling your doctor is the first step to getting help. You can speak to your doctor about your mental health and wellbeing at any age and it is confidential for anyone over 16, unless there is a concern about risk.

You should get help if you’re experiencing anything that’s worrying you, including:

• Anxiety
• Bullying
• Depression
• Divorce and separation
• Exam stress
• Family problems
• Grieving
• Relationship problems
• Self-harm
• Struggles with sexuality
• Substance misuse

The Youth Wellbeing Directory helps you locate local and national organisations if you're looking for help for yourself or someone you know.

Groups who can help:

• Big White Wall provides online early intervention for people with psychosocial distress, aged 16 and over. They have self-management tips and even virtual live therapy. Big White Wall is available free in many areas  via the NHS, employers, and universities. It’s also free to all UK serving personnel, veterans, and their families.
• DAZU offers a professional counselling service for children and young people in education with emotional and behavioural problems. They are offered a regular, confidential space to talk and think about things that are important to them. Referrals can be made by any statutory or voluntary agency, including schools and youth groups. Self-referrals may be made by children and young people as well as family members and carers.
• Every Parent and Child enhances the life chances of children, young people and their families. They focus on vulnerable children and children with special needs.
• Friends in need offers information and support for people with depression over the age of 18, through local self-help groups and online resources
• Young Minds Parents Helpline offers free and confidential expert advice for parents worried about their child
• Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) is a free NHS talking therapy for people 16 and over, who are worried or have low mood. They provide a range of treatment programmes including one-to-one therapy, counselling and group work.
• My Time Child and Young People’s Counselling Service is a specialist counselling service for children and young people aged 5 to 18
• Parent Support Unit work with families to achieve positive outcomes for children aged 0 to 18 years and offer Parenting Support Programmes
• It can be difficult for children and young people if their parents are going through divorce or separation, or if there are family problems, so it is good to know what you can do to help
• Relate offers relationship counselling and mediation in North East London. There may be a cost for these services depending on your income.
• Tavistock relationship centre also offers support around family relationships. There may be a cost for these services depending on your income.
• Our bereavement service gives information on bereavement charities which all offer help and support for those suffering a loss
• Greek and Greek Cypriot Community of Enfield offers free and confidential counselling services to adult members of the community

Nurture groups

Children may attend a nurture group in particular schools. These support children with social, emotional and mental health needs. The children are able to play, explore and learn in a small group with two trusted adults in a home-like environment. There is an emphasis on emotions and feelings, raising self-esteem, identity and self-expression and verbal communication. The school curriculum will be covered at the same time. Children must be appropriately assessed before entering the nurture group. For more information, check their SEN info report or speak to the SENCO.

Language and Social Skills (LASS) groups

These are small groups which run approximately twice a week in particular schools in Enfield. These are for children who have moderate difficulties around language and social skills. The groups follow a given structure that meets the needs as identified by an initial assessment. The activities are as practical as possible and allow many opportunities for speaking and listening, making choices, expressing needs, turn taking, and relating to others.

Place2Be

Place2Be provides emotional and therapeutic services in primary and secondary schools. They help to build children's resilience through talking, creative work and play.

Getting more help

If you’re finding it difficult to cope and haven’t been able to find support or get help from our services, you may need some more help.

The following film shows young people talking about their experience of dealing with a mental health issue and how our Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) has helped them to overcome their problems:

CAMHS is a specialist community multi-disciplinary mental health service for children, young people and their families.

We provide assessment, treatment and support for the mental health, behavioural and emotional wellbeing of under 18s, working closely with families and carers.

Our team of mental health professionals includes:

• CAMHS practitioners
• child and adolescent psychiatrists
• child and adolescents psychotherapists
• clinical psychologists
• family psychotherapists
• specialist nurse therapists

We also work closely with the Educational Psychology Service.

How we can help

The types of problems we can help with include:

• behavioural problems, such as aggression, delinquency, unmanageable behaviour and hyperactivity
• eating and feeding disorders
• emotional difficulties, such as anxiety, depression, phobias, OCD and school refusal
• self-harm or risk of self-harm (those who have taken overdoses should always be taken to the local A&E department)
• severe psychiatric illness and psychosis
• sleeping, feeding and behavioural difficulties in under-fives that result in severe disruption of family life and development
• trauma, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and trauma following abuse

There is a range of treatment available from therapeutic support and counselling, to medication prescribing and monitoring by a variety of professionals.

We also provide:

• a Health and Emotional Well Being Service (HEWS) that can be purchased by schools, giving increased access to assessment, treatment, advice and support in the school environment
• a specialist team working with looked after children
• consultation, advice and support to professionals working with your children or young person
• Enfield Parent Infant partnership, which is a specialist team providing therapeutic support for babies struggling to develop a secure attachment with their primary caregiver
• specialist adolescent teams working with young people aged 12 to 18 years with severe and complex mental health difficulties
• specialist teams, providing assessment, support and treatment for children and young people with combined mental health problems and learning disabilities
• support to hospital based pediatric services
• therapeutic support for under-fives delivered in Enfield children’s centres

Accessing the service

Referrals are accepted from schools, GPs, social care services, youth centres, youth offending organisations and other health and social care professionals.

Make a referral

For information on referrals email beh-tr.enfieldcamhs@nhs.net or for more information on SEWS email eps-sews@enfield.gov.uk.

Referral forms for professionals.

Domestic violence

If you are a victim of domestic violence or you know someone who is, help and support is available:

• Barnardo’s
• PAARS
• Solace Women's Aid

You can also visit our safeguarding page to report abuse or find out more. 

Urgent and emergency help

If a young person or child’s life is at risk and needs urgent medical assistance, you should contact your GP or go to an A&E department.

If you’re concerned about the well-being of a child, due to risks such as emotional cruelty, neglect, physical or sexual abuse, contact the Enfield Safeguarding Children Board. 

Specialist child and adolescent mental health services

Enfield CAMHS provides a range of specialist services for children, young people and families in need of help due to or at risk of self-harm, suicidal feelings or severe psychiatric illness and psychosis.

The Service for Adolescents and Families in Enfield (SAFE) is a specialist team within CAMHS providing rapid, community-based intervention to young people aged 12 to 18 years in need of crisis mental health support. This includes young people who have harmed themselves or who are at risk of suicide. In addition SAFE offers specialist assessment and intervention to teenagers who may be experiencing severe mental health difficulties, such as severe psychiatric illness and psychosis.

Referrals to CAMHS are accepted from schools, GPs, social care services, youth centres, youth offending organisations and other health and social care professionals.

Exclusion from school

If a child or young person is at risk of permanent exclusion, the school should contact admissions. The child or young person may be referred to the Fair Access Panel where they will be discussed amongst a multi-agency group and further support and advice will be given to the school. Following this there may be a further meeting between the Senior Leadership Team in the school and professionals such as the Behaviour Support Service, Educational Psychology Service and CAMHS. This is called a multi-agency consultation meeting (MAC) which aims to support the school’s thinking in preventing a permanent exclusion. 

Our exclusions from school page provides more information about the different types of exclusion and what they mean.

Youth offending

Our Youth Offending Unit also offers help and support to young offenders and their families.

Helplines:

• The Samaritans offer a 24-hour telephone helpline for anyone in emotional distress. Call them free on 116 123 (textphone: 08457 90 91 92).
• ChildLine is a free 24-hour counselling service for children and young people under 19. You can call them on 0800 1111, chat to a counsellor online, send an email or post on the message boards.
• Papyrus is a national charity dedicated to the prevention of suicide
• Harmless provides postal and email self-harm support through a counsellor and other volunteers that have personal, supportive and professional experience
• If you’re concerned about the well-being of a child, contact the Enfield Safeguarding Children Board directly

Critical incident response for educational settings

The definition of what constitutes a critical incident, tragic event or trauma depends on the particular needs and perceptions of staff, pupils and parents at the time. The Educational Psychology Service and Local Authority CAMHS Team offer help in relation to traumatic events such as the violet or sudden death of a pupil, a school fire or a meningitis scare. Consultation with an outside professional has been valuable in considering the following issues:

• How and when to share initial information with staff, children or young people and parents
• Maintaining the school routine
• Planning whole school response, such as assemblies and letters
• Responding to a bereaved family including attendance at funerals
• Clarifying who is most affected by the incident; staff, children or young people, parents
• How to offer support to staff and pupils
• Clarifying which children and young people may be helped by individual or group work or referral to CAMHS or another agency
• Longer term needs, such as memorials and anniversaries
• Evaluating and learning from the experience

If schools, colleges or other educational settings would like support following a critical incident they can contact the Educational Psychology Service or speak with their allocated Educational Psychologist in the first instance.

The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust have developed the Thrive framework as a new model for CAMHS. It is a way of thinking about the needs of children, young people and their families. With this model needs are measured under four categories:

• Getting advice
• Getting help
• Getting more help
• Getting risk support

You may encounter some of the following professionals:

• Advocacy helps you to access information and services and helps you to make decisions about your life, exploring choices and options
• CAMHS practitioners involve lots of mental health professionals working together to provide individual and family work helping children and young people under the age of 18, who experience emotional difficulties or mental health problems.
• Child and adolescent psychiatrists are medical practitioners who specialise in the diagnosis and treatment of mental health.
• Child and Adolescent psychotherapists may see children and young people individually or with other family members. The therapy may be through talking or play, depending on age. The child has an opportunity to work towards understanding themselves, their relationships and their behaviours.
• Psychologists can assess and help with young people’s psychological functioning, emotional wellbeing and development. There are different types of psychologists, such as Clinical Psychologists and Educational Psychologists, but they all help with the way you behave, feel and think about things.
• Counsellors are trained to give guidance on personal or psychological problems.
• Family psychotherapists work with young people and their families together. If you're referred to a family therapist you might meet them regularly so they can help you manage the difficulties happening in your life. You can decide who comes to the meetings and what you will speak about.
• General practitioners (GPs) are doctors based who treats patients with minor or chronic illnesses and refers those with serious conditions to a hospital.
• Specialist nurse therapists are dedicated to a particular area of nursing providing direct patient care, and play a vital role in educating patients on how best to manage their symptoms.