Brighton & Hove mental health services for young people

The services focus on children and young people’s emotional and mental health (for example, mild depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and relationship issues) and provides a range of community based short-term therapeutic interventions for children and young people who are experiencing emotional or mental health problems that do not meet the threshold for specialist CAMHS services.

You can make a referral, including a self-referral, to the single point of access for mental health needs. For more information go to the Brighton and Hove Wellbeing website.

All non-urgent routine and priority 5-day referrals will be handled by a central triage hub, staffed with clinicians from the partners within the new Community Wellbeing Service (including Here, YMCA Brighton and Hove, specialist CAMHS, and our Lead GPs).

The triage/assessment team will be available Monday to Friday from 9am-1pm and are contactable on 0300 002 0060 or by email at: BICS.brighton-and-hove-wellbeing@nhs.net.

Parents, carers, children and young people, as well as professionals working with them, can refer directly to the team or contact the team to request a referral form. Alternatively, you can call and speak to somebody from the team if you have any queries or require further information before making a referral.

The only exception is for urgent specialist CAMHS referrals if the young person is at immediate risk of taking their own life or is showing severe psychotic symptoms - please see information for how to access the Urgent Help Service.

Once triage/assessment has taken place in the single point of access, the majority of children and young people will remain within the Community Wellbeing Service. Those referred should be triaged and assessed within two working days of the referral being received.

Following triage/assessment, referrals will be sent to the appropriate service within one working day. 

Note. Any routine assessment appointments will be carried out within 20 working days of the referral being received following triage.

This is an alternative pathway for children and young people who are unable to or do not want to access the service that is available through their school or college via their Primary Mental Health Worker.

This service complements the dedicated Schools Wellbeing Service and there will be close working links to ensure a smooth transition from one service to the other, should this be in the young person’s interest.

Short term interventions will include face to face counselling of up to 10 sessions, for example:

• Specialist Black Minority & Ethnic (BME) and Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer (LGBTQ) counsellors
• Online counselling
• Therapy based activities
• Eye Movement De-sensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
• Support groups to help with issues as worry and anxiety
• Mindfulness
• Brief Interventions offering support and advice
• Family Intervention
   

Primary Mental Health Workers in schools in Brighton and Hove offer a ‘whole school’ approach to mental health and emotional wellbeing. They are part of the pastoral welfare team within the school supporting pupils (with one-to-one sessions or group work), staff and parents/carers to build mental health resilience through short term interventions, training and support. The team will work closely with the Brighton & Hove Wellbeing Service to ensure children and young people access the right support and are fast-tracked to the specialist mental health service if required.

You can find information about mental health services and support available for people aged 25 and under in Brighton and Hove, including details of self-referral options at e-wellbeing.co.uk.

If you have visited a service, you can leave them a review and a star rating. You can also access help and advice pages to find books, podcasts, apps and other handy tools that can help with wellbeing.

If you are a parent you can view the parents and carers page to find helpful resources and tools to support yourself and your child around mental health.

The pan-Sussex Family Eating Disorder Service works with children, young people and their families to treat eating disorders. The service looks at physical health, as well as mental health, and works with children, young people and their families to put together a treatment plan to help get the young person back on track.

For more information see their page: Sussex Family Eating Disorder Service (SFEDS).