National Deaf CAMHS

Who we are

National Deaf CAMHS is a specialist mental health team for deaf children, young people and their families and carers.

This is a Southwest regional team, so we cover Somerset, Bristol, South Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire, Swindon, Wiltshire, Bath and North East Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall.

Who can refer and how to do it?

Any professionals involved with children meeting the inclusion criteria can contact the service. Young people and families can ask their GP or other professionals to refer.

Referrals will be via the Single Point of Access (SPA for Somerset).

Our team

We have a mixture of hearing and deaf staff, some of us use spoken English and some of us use British Sign Language (BSL). We also have BSL interpreters who can come to meetings to make sure we understand you and you understand us.

Frequently Asked Questions
Why have I been referred to this service and what can I expect?

We can help you if you are deaf or have hearing loss and you are finding it hard to understand and manage your emotions and behaviour. This means you might be feeling scared, fed up, angry, sad, confused or depressed, or all of these at once.

You could be feeling this way because of things like bullying, low confidence, family problems or you’re having trouble communicating with others, or simply because growing up can be difficult sometimes. Whatever your issue is, we will do our best to help you feel better about things as soon as possible.

We can also help you if you aren’t deaf, but your parents or carers are deaf and you need some help understanding how your are feeling.

We will also talk to your teachers, your family and other people who know you, to understand what is going on for you and and help us decide how we can best help you. We will keep you fully involved throughout.