Specialist Mental Health Services For Children and Adolescents (CAMHS)
CAMHS are specialist mental health services for children and adolescents up to the age of 18yrs and their families. The aim of NSW Health CAMHS is to improve the mental health of these young people and to help them, their families and others caring for them to optimise their development and to build a secure base for their futures.
CAMHS services vary in each Area Health Service. For the great majority of children and adolescents with mental health problems, care is best provided in community settings.
Services provided include:
- Specialist community based services for children and adolescents and their families
- Specialist day programs for more intensive treatment
- Specialist acute and non-acute inpatient services for children and adolescents
- Specialist outreach services such as the telepsychiatry program to increase support for families and service providers in rural communities
- Support for Children of Parents with a Mental Illness
- Forensic services for adolescents whose mental health problems have led to interaction with the justice system
CAMHS provide priority access for children, adolescents and families at highest risk for current or future impairment and for those with the greatest need for specialist intensive and often long-term mental health interventions, especially those who have been exposed to multiple risk factors for mental health problems.