We offer a number of effective therapies based on the Child/ Young Person's needs and as agreed with the family through care planning
We aim to provide great care to every Child and Young Person and to support to their parent/carers and family. We work with children from the age of 5 years up to their 18th birthday. For Young People who require mental health support beyond the age of 18 we have transition workers to support as they move across to the most appropriate adult services.
Our job is to promote emotional wellbeing and provide treatment to Children and Young People with a range of mental health needs. By putting patient experience at the heart of everything we do, we can ensure that we are providing the very best quality services, advice, information and support to those people who need it, when they need it. Across CAMHS we work alongside our service users to develop services. We have service user groups and events and aim to include young people on interview panels and in service planning (contact dina.bokrezion@swlstg.nhs.uk if you would like to join our Service User groups).
The CAMHS community teams offer a range of assessments and treatments for Children and Young People presenting with enduring and moderate to severe mental health needs which impact significantly on daily functioning. Our community CAMHS teams are made up of a range of mental health professionals including Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists, Clinical and Counselling Psychologists, Family Therapists, Clinical Nurse Specialists and Child and Adolescent Psychotherapists.
https://www.swlstg.nhs.uk/our-services/our-key-locations/hospital/springfield-university-hospital
Services we offer
CAMHS offer a range of interventions and psychological therapies that research indicates can be effective in treating common mental health needs. These include:
- Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is a type of talking therapy used to help you understand how you think about things and to change any behaviours that aren't helping you. It is normally very practical, and your therapist may ask you to put into practice what you discuss between your sessions.
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is similar to CBT in that it is about helping you understand your feelings and change unhelpful behaviour, but it also helps you learn to accept yourself. DBT is usually a longer treatment than CBT and often involves working with groups. The focus is to identify unhelpful behaviours, understand why you might have developed them, and learn new coping strategies that are more helpful in the long term.
- Family therapy is one of the treatment options in CAMHS which involves your family coming to sessions in CAMHS with you. During family therapy sessions everyone works together to find ways for the whole family to do things differently, and there is an emphasis on drawing on the family's strengths and the different perspectives of family members
- Interpersonal Therapy for Adolescents (IPT-A) is a 12 session therapy model focussing on helping you address problems in your relationships with important people in your life. The theory behind IPT is that having poor relationships in your life can cause you to feel depressed, and that feeling depressed can also impact upon your relationships! Working on your symptoms of depression and improving your relationships will therefore improve how you feel. In IPT-A, working together with your therapist you will identify when your depression began and the link to relationships (e.g. transitions, bereavement, interpersonal difficulties or conflict) and create improvements.
- Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy is a treatment that focuses on a child's emotional responses and behaviour whilst naming feelings and carefully attending to what a young person says. This therapeutic process can help children and young people who are feeling troubled by anxiety or other complex feelings such as aggression, sadness, anxiety and depression.
- Trauma focused interventions for young people who have experienced one or more traumatic events, including Trauma Focused CBT, Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) or more specialist trauma approaches for Children and Young people who have experienced developmental trauma.
We also offer consultation and training to other professionals or services in some of our Boroughs in South West London including teams who require specialist mental health input, such as Social Care teams or Youth Offending Services.
The types of difficulties that CAMHS can help with includes:
- Depression
- Eating Disorders
- Anxiety Disorders
- Obsessions and compulsions
- Diagnosis of Neurodevelopmental conditions such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Austism Spectrum Disorder or Condition (ASD/ASC)
- Self-harm and Suicidal Ideation
- Post Taumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) following exposure to traumatic events
CAMHS can also diagnose and treat serious mental health problems such as:
- Bipolar disorder
- Psychosis
We have community services in five locations across south west London. They provide assessment and treatment for a range of common problems. There is one in each of the five boroughs covered by the Trust.
- Sutton
- Merton
- Wandsworth
- Kingston
- Richmond
There are also six specialist community teams, which cover all the boroughs:
This service offers assessment where the Single Point of Access or local team have identified a clear need for assessment of possible ASD/ADHD. The comprehensive assessment leads to a diagnostic report with care plan and/or recommendations.
This is a dedicated service offered to Wandsworth patients with a learning disability. This team provides a range of services for children and young people up to 18 and their families and/or carers experiencing severe and enduring mental health difficulties. The team has expanded and is now able to offer input into Sutton and Merton, and more recently assessment and consultation into Kingston and Richmond. Please contact your local team for more information on what is available.
The EDS is an 'end to end' service for the treatment of Eating Disorders based at Springfield Hospital.
The service has strong links with local children's services at St George's Hospital. Local teams manage eating problems that are secondary or related to other disorders, such as depression.
The CAMHS Emergency Care Service (CECS) is a team of specialist nurses who provide assessment and management plans for young people up to age 18 who come to accident and emergency and children's wards having a mental health crisis.
The CECS also provide urgent 7 day follow ups for young people who are registered with a GP in one of the Trust's five boroughs and who have been seen at local and non-local hospitals.
This team provides intensive intervention and risk management support for Children and Young People who are at risk of Tier 4 (inpatient) admission across the five boroughs.
We provide an inpatient and community CAMHS services for Deaf Children and Young People (or hearing Children of Deaf Adults) in London, Kent and Cambridge.
Springfield University Hospital is in Tooting and has been the primary location for mental health services in South West London for over 175 years.
As well as being the Trust Headquarters, we provide inpatient and community services to the residents of the five London boroughs we service as well as some National Specialist Services
Springfield University Hospital
61 Glenburnie Road
Tooting
London
SW17 7DJ
Telephone: 0203 513 5000
Email: ContactCentreSPH@swlstg.nhs.uk
About Springfield University Hospital
We also have 3 in-patient units based at the Springfield University Hospital:
Aquarius Ward is a 12 bed mixed gendered inpatient service for young people aged 12-18 experiencing a mental health crisis, requiring short term crisis intervention in hospital.
Building 5 (Newton Building)
Entrance 8
Springfield University Hospital
Glenburnie Road
London
SW17 7DJ
Telephone: 020 3513 5000
Email: aquariusstaff@swlstg.nhs.uk
Our opening hours (24 hours)
Corner House is a six-bed national specialist assessment and treatment unit for Deaf Children and Young People up to their 18th birthday, with severe complex emotional and psychological problems.
Springfield University Hospital
The Park, Building 5
61 Glenburnie Road
Tooting
London
SW17 7DJ
Telephone: 020 3513 5000
Email: ndcamhs@swlstg.nhs.uk
Our opening hours (24 hours)
Wisteria ward is a 12-bed unit for young people between the ages of 11 and 18 with severe Eating Disorders and weight loss related to mental health problems. Wisteria is currently being renovated and will resume normal capacity in May 2022.
Newton Building
Entrance 7
Springfield University Hospital
Glenburnie Road
London
SW17 7DJ
Telephone: 020 3513 5000
Email: admin.wisteria@swlstg.nhs.uk
Our opening hours (24 hours)
Mental Health Crisis Line
Patient advice and liaison service
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Mental Health Support Line
Childline
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