This guide by YoungMinds, the national children’s mental health charity, has been written for staff working in specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). It provides practical information about the participation of children and young people that staff can develop to suit the requirements of their particular service. However, children’s mental health and emotional well-being is the business of everybody and ‘comprehensive’ CAMHS are all services working to restore and promote the emotional well-being and mental health of children and young people. Research has also highlighted the importance of multi-agency approaches and collaborative working, and thus, this report is also for those working in other health settings, education, social services and the voluntary sector.
The material draws upon the experience of a number of YoungMinds’ researchers and consultants in undertaking research and mental health service consultations involving young people. It considers evidence from work that young researchers have undertaken and is backed by an overview of the learning from a wide range of fields, including
social care, youth counselling, services for children with disabilities and health promotion.