The CAMHS West Early Intervention and Prevention Service ‘EIPS’ are a multi-disciplinary team with a range of professional backgrounds ranging from; Social Workers, Mental Health Nurses and Occupational Therapists with a broad skill set. Working in close partnership with communities, schools and family settings we help identify emerging mental health concerns in children and young people and support the system around the child / young person to respond to those emerging difficulties at the earliest opportunity to prevent further development or escalation.
The Early Intervention and Prevention Service aims to:
- increase awareness and knowledge of child mental health, and how to influence and foster resilience.
- provide advice, guidance and support to those who form part of the child’s system.
- support those working around the child to develop evidenced based skills and interventions to promote mental health and positive outcomes.
Professional Consultation
- Brief time-limited, evidenced based model of early intervention.
- Consultation with the referrer initially, to establish a psychological formulation of the difficulties and determine the most appropriate way forward to support the young person.
- Follow up reviews where required can include other people within the system around the young person, including parents/guardians.
- EIPS do not generally provide direct intervention with the young person; however they can support direct wok with referring agencies, parents/guardians to help develop skills and strategies to improve emotional wellbeing.
School Hubs in each High school within Gwynedd
- To identify emerging mental health difficulties, refer and intervene early within school environment.
- To increase awareness and knowledge of Child Mental Health; how to influence and foster resilience. Promoting mental wellbeing within the education system and culture.
- Development of support systems through consolidation of existing skills and expertise within the school environment to promote positive outcomes for young people.
Skills and Training
- Provide education and knowledge development for front line staff in accordance with NICE Guidelines
- Multi agency training programmes to the range of professional’s working with children.
- Increase and build on the understanding of mental health issues and help develop strategies for those within the child’s system to respond to the needs identified, recognising that the child needs are best met by those they best known to them.
- Help consolidate existing knowledge through experiential learning.