Forensic child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS)

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About the service

The forensic CAMHS team works closely with CAMHS and other agencies to provide specialist consultation, assessment and intervention for forensic concerns or complex presentations in children and young people. Referrals to the team are generally prompted by concerns about potential risks that may include problems with harmful sexual behaviour (HSB), violence and aggression, harm towards animals, fire setting or other complex presentations.

 

The team

The team is made up of professionals who come from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines including psychology, social work, nursing and psychiatry. By working alongside other agencies and providers, the team is able to greatly enhance safe working practices. This is particularly important in cases where young people may be particularly vulnerable or present with highly complex needs and risks.

The young people accessing the service present with highly complex needs and associated risks with a complex history and background including those who have experienced trauma and/or abuse.

The team provides the following services:

 

Focus CAMHS (secure estate: Adel Beck secure children’s estate and Wetherby Young Offenders’ Institute)

The focus team provides a forensic pathway at Adel Beck and a harmful sexual behaviour (HSB) pathway at Wetherby Young Offenders’ Institute (YOI) as an integrated part of the whole healthcare offer. We work closely with both the establishments and wider partner agencies including youth offending services to support bespoke packages of care that meet children’s needs.

Our approach ensures the individual histories and circumstances of the child are considered and aim to understand their presenting behaviour in that context. This approach enables robust formulation, risk assessment, recommendations and interventions; where required.

The delivery of HSB intervention is determined by a range of factors including the child’s risk of harm and vulnerability.

We accept referrals due to concerning or problematic behaviour, along with those for which young people may have been formally convicted. Referrals to the service can be made by any agency, parent or child who is currently residing in Adel Beck or Wetherby YOI.

You can also download the following leaflets for more information:

 

Focus CAMHS (Wakefield)

The focus CAMHS Wakefield service provides support to young people who have mental health problems or who may be in contact with the criminal justice system in relation to harmful sexual behaviour, as part of an integrated CAMHS offer. The team works closely with professionals from local partner organisations in health and social care fields, as well as the Wakefield youth development support service.

The team provides a consultation service as well as undertaking assessments and interventions in relation to harmful sexual behaviour. The team is also part of the multi-agency harmful sexual behaviour panel for Wakefield, ensuring children receive the most appropriate level of support from the district.

The service uses an established evidenced based pathway ensuring the individual histories and circumstances of the child are considered and aim to understand their presenting behaviour within that context. This approach enables robust formulation, risk assessment, recommendations and interventions; where required. The delivery of HSB intervention is determined by a range of factors including the child’s risk of harm and vulnerability.

We accept referrals due to concerning or problematic behaviour, along with those for which young people may have been formally convicted.

 

Yorkshire and Humber forensic CAMHS (FCAMHS)

Yorkshire and Humber FCAMHS is a regional service. To ensure local expertise, our Trust works in partnership with three other NHS Trusts to deliver the service.

Our service is available to young people under the age of 18 living across the region, where there are questions regarding mental health or neurodisability who:

  • Present with high risk of harm towards others and about whom there is major family or professional concern
  • And/or are in contact with the criminal justice system
  • Or are likely to enter secure care due to behaviour/presentation that can’t be managed elsewhere.

Examples of presentations which may prompt you to refer to our service include: violent behaviours, arson/fire-setting, harmful sexual behaviour which occurs in conjunction with other risk related behaviour, animal cruelty or other complex high risk behaviours which place the young person or others at risk of significant harm.

The service is community-based, and will also become involved with young people and their professional group to support transitions both in to, and out of, secure care (hospital settings, secure welfare environments and custodial settings).

The multi-disciplinary team offers a consultation service, as well as undertaking assessments and interventions in relation to various forensic and/complex presentations.

This service has its own website.

You can also download the following leaflets for more information:

Why would someone choose the service?

We are flexible in our approach to care, and all of our contact with children and young people in the community is in settings that they feel comfortable in. We ensure that they feel safe and secure, and treat them with dignity and respect at all times.

The team regularly seeks feedback from those accessing the service and consistently receives high levels of satisfaction.

Staff you may meet