For young people between their 16th and 19th birthday who have mental health difficulties. The service is open between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday.

We usually see young people from the Chester, Ellesmere Port and surrounding areas at our Base on the Countess of Chester Health Park and see young people from the Winsford and Northwich areas at the CAMHS base in Winsford.

Who are we?

We are a team of specially trained workers whose job it is to improve the mental health of young people aged 16 to 19. The team come from a range of different professions including clinical psychology, mental health nurses, social workers, counsellors, psychiatrist and other therapists. We have training in many different therapies and aim to understand you and your situation so therapy can be tailored to you. We also have secretaries who are often the ones who answer the phone and will do their best to be helpful and understanding.

What sort of thing do we help with?

There are other services; such as Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT), school and college counsellors or Visyon which can support young people with stresses, worries and feeling low. Young people usually come to see us if things have got worse and are perhaps stopping them doing important things in their life or having them feel life is not worth living. They might be experiencing extreme distress and coping in ways that hurt themselves or others. Sometimes they have had very difficult or traumatic experiences or are struggling with physical health or disabilities.

What can we offer?

We offer a range of individual therapies tailored to you as well as groups. Therapies might include Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR), Solution focused or Narrative therapy. Sometimes people benefit from further specialised assessment or it can be helpful to meet with our psychiatrist, perhaps to consider medication. We can also offer consultation to people who support you, such as school, social worker or support workers, to help them in their work with you.

How can you get to see us?

The best way to get referred to us is to see your GP who will make a referral. You can ask other people too, such as a member of school or college staff, social workers, school nurses or physical health doctors.

If you have been to A&E, e.g. after self harm, the person you saw there can also refer. After you have been referred you will usually get a letter asking you to ‘opt in’ or call to make an appointment. Depending on where you live and who you were referred by your first appointment will usually be a screening appointment in the primary care team who will talk with you to decide which is the best service for you.

What usually happens at your first appointment?

This usually takes around an hour and we will explore with you your difficulties, your situation at the moment, your life story and any risks, so that we can together develop an understanding or ‘formulation’ of your difficulties & decide what is most likely to be helpful. Unfortunately there is usually a wait for therapies.

Confidentiality and being 16+

When you turn 16 the law changes and you now have the legal right to confidentiality and to consent to your own treatment.

This means you can make your own decision about using the 16-19 service and we should not talk to your parents or other people about you without your permission, unless we are very concerned about your or someone else’s safety. In order to help you it is important that we give some information to your GP or the person who referred you to us.

At your first appointment we will talk to you about confidentiality and whether you want a family member involved. We will also help you to consider if having their support could be helpful. Often young people are happy for us to talk to their parents and support them as long as we do not share information from their sessions.

Emergency or Crisis Support

  • In office hours (Monday to Friday 9am till 5pm) phone to talk to the 16-19 service ‘duty person’
  • Children's and Young People’s (CYP) Out of Hours Advice Line on 01244 397644 (open Monday to Friday 5-10pm and weekends 12-8pm)
  • The crisis resolution home treatment team (CRHT) Out of Hours (over 18) on 01244 397303 or 01244 397497
  • Your own GP or GP out of hours
  • Your local A&E department

Useful websites

How to find us:

1829 Building
Bowmere Hospital
Liverpool Road
Chester
CH2 1BQ
Telephone: 01244 397555

 

If you would like this information in another format, please speak to a member of CWP staff or e-mail cwp.info@nhs.net.

June 2020 Version 1.
www.cwp.nhs.uk.