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Transition

Turning 18 can be a challenging time for some people as you are approaching adulthood and lots of things can change. When you are approaching 18 years and you still need support from mental health services, we will work with you and transfer your care over to the adult mental health team if this is what is best for you and what you choose to do. This is what we call transitioning to Adult Mental Health from CAMHS.

What to expect?

Your named practitioner will have a discussion with you to explain the process of transition and gain your thoughts on what is best for you. CAMHS work differently to Adult Mental Health Services and while it may be that you would like to continue with care and treatment, there may be more suitable services to support your needs. If this is the case, we will work with you to transfer your care to these services. If Adult Mental Health Services are suitable for you, we will work together to identify what information is important to you and what you choose is shared with adult services.

 

What we do? How do we support Transition

All CAMHS and Adult Mental Health Teams have a transition service that monitors and supports transition and meets regularly to ensure that no young person who wants and needs mental health services is forgotten.

Planning for Transition

It is helpful to consider the following areas of your life when planning for transition:

  • Important details about yourself including what are your main goals
  • What has worked well for you in the past and now
  • Your dislikes, your strengths and challenges
  • The people around you who support you
  • Any other relevant information you think needs to be shared

What if I am still in the middle of therapy?

If you are currently having a specific therapy in CAMHS such as DBT, we would make sure that this continues so you don’t have a break in your care and treatment if this is safe to do so. This may mean you remain open to CAMHS for this therapy longer and also share some parts of your care with Adult Mental Health during therapy however, once this is completed you will be fully transitioned to the most suitable adult service as previously agreed in the planning.

After you turn 18 years, whether completing therapy with CAMHS or not, should you need extra support or unplanned care during this time, this will be with adult services.

Joint working

If you drop out of treatment after or close to your 18th birthday, your CAMHS team can become involved again and support you to access therapy and treatment and help to overcome any barriers to accessing help and support for up to a year after you turn 18. During this 12 months we can work with you and the Adult Mental Health Team to support you continuing accessing care and treatment.

We know it can be difficult to speak to someone new about your life and difficulties/needs so the transition process is designed to help you to develop these new relationships before your CAMHS support finishes.

Consent and Confidentiality

We can give you advice and guidance to help support you with decisions to transition your care to adult services however it is your choice whether this is something you want to do.

 

Will my family/carers still be involved when I turn 18?

Parental responsibility stops when a child turns 18 years old. This means that you have a choice and it is your decisions for how involved family and carers will be in your care and treatment. While in CAMHS you will have had conversations about consent and confidentiality and sharing information with family and carers. If this is something you wish to continue in adult services, we can support you to communicate this with your family/carers recognising this is your choice as an adult to give consent and we will honour your decisions and privacy.

 

Will I have to wait?

We try to make your transition as seamless as possible. There may be a gap in time in your transition to Adult Services depending on your needs. This will be discussed with your CAMHS Practitioner and we will work with you to continue to support you during this time.

 

Where do I go for repeat prescriptions while waiting to transition?

Depending on the medication you are taking, sometimes your local GP may be able to prescribe this for you. Other times, it will need to be Adult Mental Health Services.

 

Who do I contact while waiting to be transitioned?

This depends on current circumstances: 

  • If you have named CAMHS Practitioner, they will be available to contact for any questions you may have. (all CAMHS phone numbers)
  • If you have been referred to mental health services after your 18th birthday, the local Adult Mental Team should be able to help you and identify a plan of support (all AMH numbers).
  • You can always contact your own GP services if you are struggling with accessing services

 

As a standard, Transition services offer:

  • As a service, within the service we meet monthly to ensure we know who will be turning 18 years in our service
  • We have a nominated staff member who leads on this
  • We will ensure we treat you fairly, respecting your values and wishes
  • We will make sure your needs are at the heart of any process
  • We will work together with you to find the right support for you
  • If you are being looked after by the Local Authority or receiving a specialist package of care, we will include them in your transition planning.
  • If you need help from others services, we will make sure this is done at the right time for you
  • We will listen to you and ask for your feedback about your experiences of services (link to Patient Experience Page)