What is Forensic CAMHS South West (South)?

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

What do we do?

  • We help professionals to understand a young person’s strengths and needs.
  • We try to understand why they use the behaviours that they do. We will ask professionals for information about the young person.
  • We make recommendations to the professional network to support the young person now and in the future.
  • Our advice will be different for every young person because everyone has different needs and goals.

We offer:

  • consultation
  • case formulation
  • professional supervision
  • advice and signposting
  • training for professionals
  • direct assessments such as risk assessment
  • risk management planning
  • provide guidance and recommendations for interventions

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.

The FCAMHS referral form can be found on our Forensic team page.

Submit referrals to the Somerset CAMHS Single Point of Access (SPA).

Email: CAMHSSPA@somersetft.nhs.uk
Tel: 0300 124 5012