Southwark CAMHS Neurodevelopmental Service (NDS)

• We see young people with an existing diagnosis of a neurodevelopmental disorder who need help because of:

  • Mental health problems, for example anxiety, depression, eating disorders or psychosis

  • Behavioural problems

  • Symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) that may need treatment with medicines

• We also see young people who are suspected to have ADHD but who have not yet had been diagnosed with this

• We can assess and diagnose mental health conditions or behavioural problems, as well as ADHD

• We can provide individual or group modified cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for young people with neurodevelopmental problems, to help with problems such as anxiety or struggling to manage emotions

• We can provide interventions for parents or carers around helping to manage behavioural problems for young people, either individually using a Positive Behavioural Support (PBS) approach or in a group with others parents

• We can provide post-diagnostic help and information to parents or carers of young people recently diagnosed with ADHD, through our Understanding ADHD course

• We can initiate and manage specialist psychiatric medications for the treatment of mental illness, ADHD or behavioural problems associated with neurodevelopmental disorders

• We can liaise with or provide consultation to other agencies, including schools and children’s social care services

• We can also work with other teams in Southwark CAMHS where other interventions might be helpful

These interventions are provided by an experienced multi-disciplinary team of mental health professionals, including:

• Specialist CAMHS practitioners

• Mental health nurses

• CAMHS social workers

• Occupational therapists

• Clinical psychologists

• Child and adolescent psychiatrists

We are a service for children or young people up to their 18^th birthday, who are registered with a General Practitioner (GP) within the London Borough of Southwark. We are happy to receive referrals from any professional working with a child or young person, including universal services such as GPs, schools, paediatricians or social workers. We can also receive referrals directly from families if other professionals are not already involved.

Referrals should be made using the Southwark CAMHS Single Point of Access referral form ^{(doc, 501kb)}.  All referrals are screened to determine whether they are appropriate for our service and their urgency. If a referral is accepted to the Neurodevelopmental Service, a young person will usually be placed on our waiting list for an assessment to take place as soon as possible. We may sometimes recommend that another service might be better placed to help, either within Southwark CAMHS or a different agency.

Southwark Child and Adolescent Mental Health Neurodevelopmental Service

Sunshine House

27 Peckham Road

London

SE5 8UH

Telephone: 0203 228 7777

Email: CAMHS.SouthwarkReferrals@slam.nhs.uk

We are a free service that is provided for families with a child registered to a General Practitioner within the London Borough of Southwark, and a statutory part of local health services for children and young people. We are funded by Southwark Clinical Commissioning Group on behalf of the NHS, as well as by Southwark Local Authority.

The service is confidential and you will be asked for permission for us to speak with other professionals and agencies on your behalf. The only circumstance in which it may be necessary to breach confidentiality is if the professional involved is sufficiently concerned regarding the child’s or young person’s personal welfare and safety. We operate a strict anti-discrimination policy in accordance with law, so that no child or young person is barred from our service on grounds of disability, gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, culture or family configuration.