Forensic CAMHS

About us

The Forensic Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (FCAMHS) South West (South), is an NHS service that covers Somerset, Devon and Cornwall (including placing authority).

We are a specialist team that provides advice, signposting and consultation to professionals. For a small number of our children and young people, we may also offer direct assessment or intervention. Please note we do not typically meet directly with children, young people, or their families.

Our referral criteria are:

  • a high level of risk of harm to others through behaviours such as harmful sexual behaviour, and/or serious violence in multiple settings, and/or fire setting

and

  • complex mental health needs that would meet the threshold for general CAMHS, and/or neurodevelopmental differences such as Autism and ADHD, and/or trauma and attachment difficulties

The team

The team is made up of professionals from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines which can include social work, mental health nursing, psychology, psychiatry, occupational therapy and a team secretary.

Our team has particular experience in:

  • understanding the strengths and difficulties associated with young people presenting a high risk of harm to others
  • supporting other services involved with young people presenting a high risk of harm to others
  • working across systems such as health, youth justice, welfare, and education

How to refer

Any professionals involved with children under 18 meeting the inclusion criteria can contact the service. Young people and families can ask professionals supporting them or their GP to consider whether a referral is appropriate.

To make a referral, please complete our referral form.

Information for young people and families

Are we just like CAMHS?

We work differently to CAMHS. We do not usually meet with young people and their families directly. Instead of meeting with you, we mostly work with your professionals, to help them support you in the best way.

What does FCAMHS do?

  • We help professionals to understand you, your strengths and needs.
  • We try to understand why you use the behaviours that you do. We will ask professionals for information about you, including your opinion.
  • We make recommendations to the people working with you to support you now and in the future.
  • Our advice will be different for every young person because everyone has different needs and goals!

If you have any questions about Forensic CAMHS, please speak to one of your professionals.

Information guidance

Feedback

We are continuing to look at how we can improve our service and ensure we are offering the best advice and support for young people and the professional network. If you have had contact with us, via a referral or during a consultation, we would love to hear your feedback.