A Parent/Care Guide to an Initial Assessment
An assessment is usually a 60-90-minute session that helps us to get to know you/your child and the support you/your child may need. If your child is of primary school age, we meet with you and where possible your child at their school. If your child is secondary school age, they can choose if they would like to attend on their own or be accompanied by a parent/carer or another trusted adult.
We require parental consent for all children/young people under the age of 16 years before we have the initial assessment meeting. Your practitioner will discuss this and other requirements with you before you meet.
If your child is 16+ they can be seen alone without parental consent or knowledge and we are required to ask their consent to share information with parents/carers.
Your practitioner will ask you to complete questionnaire/s before or during your assessment, these are called Routine Outcome Measures (ROMs). ROMs are not a diagnostic tool but help us to understand presenting challenges and provide an impartial/unbiased snapshot of the areas where help and support may be needed.
At the start if the meeting, we will create an agenda together to ensure you will be given the opportunity to discuss what is important to you/your child, this will include:
- Confidentiality
- Information sharing
- Information that helps us to get to know you and your current challenges
- Your strengths
- Your support needs
- Your support options
- Goals you wish to achieve from your support
- Your safety
It might be that after completing an assessment with us we are able to help you through one of our guided self-help interventions such as:
- Help intervention for parent/carers of anxious children aged 11 and under
- Promoting Positive Behaviour: A self-help parenting intervention for mild to moderate behavioural difficulties (children aged 11 and under)
- Worry Management: for young people experiencing persistent worries (11 years +)
- Graded Exposure: (facing feared situations step by step) for young people who may be avoiding certain situations, objects or places (11 years +)
- Brief Behavioural Activation: for young people to explore and develop helpful coping strategies specific to improving low mood (11 years +)
For children aged 11 or over, we work with the young person directly and involve parent/carers where appropriate.
We can support young people, with additional needs, up to the age of 25.
If we are unable to offer you/your child support from our service, we give advice, guidance and signpost you to other agencies who may be able to better support you/your child’s needs.
After an Initial Assessment, we will write to the child/young person’s GP and school to inform them that we have met and advise of the agreed support plan going forward.
If you wish to access support, please speak to your school or college’s Designated Mental Health Lead (DMHL) or another trusted staff member.
The DMHL can then make a referral to our service or signpost you to appropriate support.
Speak to the Designated Mental Health Lead (DMHL) at your school/college who can refer you to our service.
Or download the information leaflet fill in your details on the final page and hand this to a trusted member of staff who will pass this onto the DMHL.
The Mental Health Support Team is not an emergency service and is unable to provide urgent or crisis care. If a child or young person is in crisis, you should:
- Call Freephone 0800 6444 101 (Single Point of Access (SPA) 24/7 Mental Health Helpline)
- NHS 111 and select option 2 for mental health service
- If they are seriously ill or injured, dial 999 for the emergency services or attend A&E
To download a copy of this information please click here.