CAMHS Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) Service
Our CAMHS DBT service offers an intensive therapy for young people and their carers.
We provide intensive therapy for individuals struggling with emotion dysregulation and unhelpful ways of thinking and behaving. We cover all of the SWLSTG boroughs (Wandsworth, Merton, Sutton, Richmond and Kingston) and are based at Birches House, in Mitcham.
How we help
We work with a multi-disciplinary team of DBT Therapists, made up of Nurses, Psychologists and a Consultant Psychiatrist, to provide you with the highest possible quality of care, so that you can achieve the best outcomes from the treatment we offer.
- Weekly 1:1 therapy
- Access to phone coaching from a therapist, Mon-Fri 9-5, for both young people and carers
- Weekly multi-family skills group for young people and their carers
- Weekly therapist consult meeting to discuss the care and progress of young people and their carers, and to support a joined-up approach
- Possible trauma informed therapy
- Medication management
CAMHS Dialectical Behavioural Therapy
The CAMHS Dialectical Behavioural Therapy Service (DBT) is a team of therapists who provide an intensive, therapeutic service for young people up to 18 years who are experiencing emotional dysregulation and engaging in unhelpful thinking patterns or behaviours. We work with Young People and their carers to address harmful behaviours and increase skillful behaviours in order to improve their lives.
We work with Young People and their carers for 8-12 months. During this time we will regularly review the care plan with the Young Person and their network in the form of Care Plan Approach (CPA) meetings.
How to make a referral
We only accept referrals from Tier 3 CAMHS teams and inpatient units. We ask referrers to get in touch with the team in the first instance at DBTCAMHS@swlstg.nhs.uk. This service does not accept self-referrals from young people, parents or carers.
Assessment/Consultation Process
Once we have received a referral, a young person will be placed on the waitlist for an initial consultation with the DBT team. At this consultation we will spend time with both the young person and their carers separately, to see whether we feel DBT could be a helpful fit at this time. If it is decided that DBT could be helpful, we will offer 4-6 sessions of pre-treatment, where the young person gets to know their therapist and the DBT model, and then decide whether or not they want to sign up to the full 8-12 months of treatment. If a Young Person decides to go ahead with treatment, they would enter the full treatment programme at that point or be discharged back to the referrer.
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Finding a service
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