The relationship between specialist child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) and school- and community-based counselling for children and young people

This scoping study was commissioned by the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) to inform the development of the Counselling MindEd e-learning resources (CounsellingMinded.com) for counsellors working with children and young people. It describes the relationship, in England, between specialist CAMHS and school- and community-based counselling services for children, as reported by counsellors and specialist CAMHS staff. Respondents were asked about their experiences of the relationship between these two types of service, what they saw as good and not-so-good practice, and their suggestions for how the two types of service could work together better. This study indicates that relationships between specialist CAMHS and school- and community-based
counselling services were reported as highly variable in quality and form. The provision of a seamless service to children and young people could be strengthened by agencies being well-informed about one another, with clear protocols for inter-agency communication, referral and consultation. The existence of this is currently reported as uneven, with effective, respectful and constructive inter-agency liaison reported in some areas; whilst lack of understanding, confusion, frustration, limited interaction and little mutual respect are also frequently reported.