CAMHS Group Discussion Prepared by CAMHS, Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Who are CAMHS & What do we do? CAMHS stands for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. CAMHS are the NHS services that assess and treat young people with emotional & mental health difficulties. CAMHS work with young people with more complex, moderate to severe difficulties.

Who are CAMHS & What do we do? CAMHS support covers depression, problems with food, self-harm, panic, anxiety, psychosis, poor concentration and compulsions' to name a few. There are 3 local NHS CAMHS services in the county. The teams include nurses, therapists, psychologists, support workers, social workers & psychiatrists, as well as other professionals.

Who are CAMHS & What do we do? Someone, usually your parents, teacher or GP, can refer you for an assessment with CAMHS to see what help you could get.

CAMHS Young Ambassador Programme Young Ambassadors would become voice of children and young people in CAMHS Designed by you, for you. One of a number of ways we are thinking about for young people to support and work with CAMHS in design and development of the service We need your thoughts….

EG: Youth Sport Trust – Young Ambassadors YST Young Ambassadors is designed to build the leadership skills of young people and as a result they are empowered to take on the following roles: Be the youth voice for PE and school sport in their school and community Promote the positive values of sport Be a role model and champion for PE and school sport Increase participation opportunities and healthy lifestyles for everyone

EG. British Youth Council – UK The Young Ambassadors are a team of 12 elected young people aged 18-25 representing the four nations of the UK.  The UK Young Ambassadors work in partnership with the Northern Ireland Youth Forum, Scottish Youth Parliament and youth organisations in Wales to deliver a strong voice from the Nations. They represent UK youth at international forums and events ensuring the voices of young people are heard. Before major events, the Young Ambassadors run large consultations throughout the UK and online. There are four main ways that the Young Ambassadors represent young people internationally,  through Structured Dialogue, the European Youth Forum, the Commonwealth Youth Council and ad hoc fora, conferences and events.

EG. Action for Children – Young Ambassadors Young Ambassador are regularly involved in staff recruitment and selection, ‘it’s worthwhile and every service should do it for the self-confidence of young people involved but also for the confidence they’ll have in the staff and the service in the future.’

We need your views & ideas What do you think could be the purpose of a Young Ambassador in CAMHS? What do you think the role could involve? Would the role require training? Do you think ongoing support would be required – if so what? What would make you want to be part of such a scheme? Do you think a Young Ambassador Scheme for CAMHS is something that is a good idea