Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week, 7-13 February

07 Feb 22

This week is Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week. This year’s theme is growing together and is all about encouraging children to consider how they have grown and how they can help others to grow as they move into adulthood.

Like anyone, at times some children and young people may struggle with their feelings or emotions. We must treat our mental health as importantly as we treat our physical health and just like physical health, there is lots of help available.

At HPFT we work with a number of NHS and voluntary sector organisations to provide a comprehensive CAMHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) which is organised through a tiered system at four levels. We provide specialist services in tiers three and four. Along with our partners, we work within the Thrive Model, which is designed to provide support and advice for children and young people with emotional health and wellbeing.

Tier 1 – Getting Advice
This tier provides early intervention and prevention services which are provided through schools and children’s centres, health visitors, school nurses, GPs, Youth Connexions, helplines and websites.

Tier 2 – Getting Help
Tier 2 provides early help and targeted services. Some of Hertfordshire’s targeted child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), Step 2, are provided by Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust. For more information, please click here.

Support also comes through community counselling, counselling or mentoring in schools, education psychologists, education support centres, targeted youth support teams, family support and http://www.kooth.com/ free online counselling for 10–25-year-olds.

Tier 3 – Getting more help and risk support
This covers specialist CAMHS, including eating disorder services which are provided by HPFT.

Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust (HCT) provides the Positive Behaviour, Autism, Learning Disability and Mental Health Service (PALMS), a specialist multi-disciplinary approach to children and young people aged 0-19 who have a global learning disability and/or Autistic Spectrum Disorder and their families.

For more information about PALMS, please click here.

Tier 4 - Getting more help and risk support
Services within Tier 4 are for children and young people with the most complex needs and include our Forest House Adolescent Unit.

Not sure what you need or where to go?

Click on the image below to learn more about JustTalk, the main source of information for mental and wellbeing support for children and young people in Hertfordshire.

If you are worried about the mental health of a child or young person, urgent help is available 24 hours a day:

Call HPFT's freephone 24/7 helpline: 0800 6444 101
Call NHS 111 and select option two for mental health services

Related Pages

Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week, 7-13 February