Young people encouraged to seek help with mental health
Children and young people, who are struggling with their mental health, are being reminded that there are lots of ways they can get help and support.
Children’s Mental Health Week is a national campaign running this week until Sunday 12 February 2023.
This year’s theme for Children's Mental Health Week is about the importance of making meaningful connections to family, friends and others, to promote good mental health and wellbeing, and reduce isolation and loneliness.
To support the campaign, Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) is encouraging young people, and their parents to visit its website and find out more about mental health services available.
The Trust’s dedicated Child and Young People Mental Health Services (CYPMHS) webpage – www.nhft.nhs.uk/cypmentalhealth – has been developed with young people, and offers lots of resources to help those, up to the age of 18 in Northamptonshire, who are experiencing difficulties with their emotional wellbeing and mental health. Alongside this, the Trust’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) also provides a variety of interventions and therapies and work with families, across the county, to help children and young people with their mental health. Its 0-19 Service also offers ‘Emotion Coaching’ which helps children understand and manage their emotions to promote mental well-being.
Last year, the Trust also unveiled its new-look interactive webpage – www.nhft.nhs.uk/childrensservices – which helps people easily navigate its services for young people and find out more about what support is on offer. The site was developed with input from young people who said they wanted a more digitally-focused approach to care.
Rosie McCallum from NHFT, who helped create the webpage, said: “We identified that parents, carers and young people wanted more interactive and digital led ways of finding out information, health advice and guidance, so we wanted to create something new, visual and appealing, as well as a more accessible experience for our young service users and their families.”
The recently launched NHFT Participation Instagram account, is also aimed at young people, giving them a voice and helping them to shape health services through lived-experience, and the Northants Health Visitors Facebook page which has over 12,000 followers, and – on Twitter – NHFT School Nurses which is a public health service for children aged from four to 19 and families in Northamptonshire have also been supporting Children’s Mental Health Week by sharing messages.