Back in March 2020, just a couple of weeks before lockdown, we brought you information regarding Healthier Minds, an East Renfrewshire mental health support network for children aged 8-18 (clarkstonmedical.co.uk/healthier-minds). There’s no doubt that lockdown was bad for a great many people’s mental health, including children, who lost the usual structure of school and some of them not sitting exams in the usual way. Thankfully, Healthier Minds has, since then, grown into an even more comprehensive service for young people needing help. The Healthier Minds Hub sits at the centre of a variety of services (see the main image), including Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), the formal referral point from General Practice. Individuals, or their parents, can make a self referral into the Hub via the website and phone number below. Schools can also refer in, as Educational Psychology is one of the spokes in the wheel. Self and school referrals are not deemed any lower priority than GP referral.
CAMHS referrals are still the best option for “Tier 3” mental health problems – typically significant deliberate self-harm and/or suicidal thinking or eating disorders. We will always see your child urgently in these circumstances. For other concerns such as school avoidance, anxiety or unsociable behaviour, to name just a few, you will likely be more efficient making an early self referral into the Hub – which meets weekly to discuss the best destination for support for the child – and letting them hear the problem in your/your child’s own words and decide the best form of help. If the issues are primarily school based, you could ask Educational Psychology to make the referral for you.
We thought it would be useful for you to know about this service to give you as good a chance as possible to get help for your child quickly. The website includes excellent resources to support children, young people and their parents/guardians with various mental health disorders.
https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/er/healthierminds
0141 451 0722