Mental Health Support Team (MHST)

What are the Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs)?

The Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) in Somerset are  a partnership  between Young Somerset and Somerset CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services).

The MHST work in educational settings across the county, supporting children and young people aged  5-16 with their mental health and wellbeing. Our primary goal  is to ensure that children, young people and their families receive  timely help  when they need it. Additionally, we aim  to build resilience by equipping children, young people and their families with  tools and strategies to use now and in the future,  enabling young people to fully engage in their education.

We provide  support for mild to moderate mental health concerns. Low Intensity-Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (LI-CBT) is most effective when mental health changes first begin to emerge.  Signs that a  young person may be experiencing changes in their mental health include:

  • Becoming more withdrawn or feel low
  • Seeking reassurance more frequently
  • Losing interest in activities they used to enjoy
  • Excessive worrying
  • Repeating certain activities or behaviours that are not helpful to them

This list is not exhaustive.  For more information on potential signs of mental health issues in young people,  please refer to the NHS website.

What is Low Intensity-Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (LI-CBT)

LI-CBT is a therapeutic  approach that addresses  the difficulties a young person is facing by exploring the connections between their thoughts, feelings and behaviours.   Understanding these connections is key to addressing the problem. LI-CBT helps young people develop a toolkit of strategies and learn new ways to manage  difficult situations.

This approach is  collaborative, meaning  young people actively participate in  their therapy. They  regularly take ideas or strategies from their sessions and apply  them  at home and at school.

Our Team

Trainee and Qualified Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs)

  • Deliver 1:1 and group work through evidence-based (LI-CBT) interventions for children and young people with mild to moderate mental health issues.
  • Work closely with parents/carers, either individually or in groups, to build their confidence and skills in supporting their child’s  mental health .
  • Support the Mental Health Lead in each education setting to develop or further enhance , a whole-school approach to emotional health wellbeing.
  • Offer timely guidance to children, young people and their families, empowering them to access appropriate support and resources.

Senior Mental Health Practitioners (SMHPs)

  • Support EMHPs through Clinical Supervision.
  • Manage a caseload of more complex cases.
  • Attend consultation meetings in schools.

Whole School Approach Practitioners (WSAPs)

  • Implement a co-ordinated Whole School Approach (WSA)  to promote emotional wellbeing across educational settings.
  • Deliver non-clinical groups and assemblies.
  • Facilitate parent groups, including ‘Tuning into Teens’ and ‘Tuning into Kids’.

Mental Health Leads (MHL) in Schools

  • Coordinate all the referrals within the school.
  • Coordinate consultation meetings.

The MHST work in collaboration with Educational Psychologists, Public Health and Exeter University.

Young Somerset also employ Children’s Wellbeing Practitioners (CWPs), who deliver the same interventions in non-MHST schools across Somerset.  They can be accessed via the Young Somerset website  https://www.youngsomerset.org.uk/

CAMHS also offer a range of additional services which can be accessed via this link https://www.somersetft.nhs.uk/camhs/

Waiting lists

The MHST is not a crisis service, and there is a waiting list to access support. If you have any further questions about our processes, please phone 01823 368481 or email mhstadmin@somersetft.nhs.uk. The phoneline and inbox are monitored between 9am and 5pm.

For  urgent concerns, please contact the following services:

  • Mindline: A 24/7 phoneline offering support and advice to all ages. Call  01823 276 892 or 0800 138 1692
  • Your local GP or NHS helpline (111)
  • Samaritans: Call 116 123In an emergency: Dial 999 or visit your local A&E department

Please see other services and resources in our Resources page.

Information for Young People and Families
Why have I been referred to this service and what can I expect?

The Mental Health Support Team (MHST) provides assessment and support for children and young people experiencing mild-moderate mental health and emotional wellbeing difficulties, such as low mood, worries, panic, fear, routines and problems with self-care, plus a few other things that you can see detail off in our referral criteria. This is for both primary and secondary age children, and we also offer some parent/carer interventions.

We offer a few different Low Intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy interventions, which we complete over 6-8 sessions. Before this we complete an assessment with you, to help us know if this would be suitable for you. This will usually be in school and take about one hour. If possible we will also set goals and discuss how sessions may look.

Your MHST Assessment will consider your background and current situation. If there is concern our support offers are unlikely to meet your or your families current support needs (e.g. for reasons of safety or likely effectiveness of this treatment) then we will discuss this and offer signposting to other support which may be more appropriate. This may require our practitioners thinking further as a team, in order to improve the helpfulness of recommendations we give you, and also put in to a discharge letter to yourself and others.

Will it be confidential?

Our policy on confidentiality is based on your right for privacy, and your information not being shared with anyone who does not need to know this, e.g. your teachers, in order to establish open, honest and trusting communication. We do promote sharing this with parents/care givers, and select other significant adults involved in your care such as your school’s Mental Health Lead (MHL) and maybe your General Practitioner (GP). If you do not want your information shared e.g. with your parents, then we can listen to and respect this up to the point of any significant concerns about your or others coming to any harm, when we may have to prioritise safety- though we would always aim to explain and work with you on this.

More information on our confidentiality policy, and use/storing of your data, is available upon request, including on our referral form, and this will be explained in assessment where you can also ask any questions that you have.

Information for Professionals
Who can refer and how to do it?

“Requests for help” can only come into the service via the school designated Mental Health Lead(MHL) within any MHST assigned school. Other staff and families may however input into these.

The MHL should be the one to send these to the MHST inbox, after checking the request for help form for completion.
You can find the “Request for help” form on the right-side of the page.