Support available in Buckinghamshire

Mental Health Support Team (MHST)

The Buckinghamshire MHST supports young people who have emotional well-being difficulties. They provide evidence-based therapeutic support on both an individual level and in groups to help young people, parents and carers.

Some schools will have access to Mental Health Support Teams who can provide support. MHST’s are based in identified schools in Buckinghamshire, and there is further planned expansion of teams across schools in the county. Current schools that have access to MHST’s are listed on their website.

The Family Support Service Link Worker

Your Family Support Service school link worker will be able to discuss the needs of the child or young person you're concerned about and help identify the most appropriate support to seek for their needs.

There is a range of support which could be accessed including:

• Supporting the school to deliver early support.
• Offering direct support to the child or young person through the FSS Level 2 offer, which includes wellbeing matters (7 to 11 years) or youth groups which cover topics such as stress, anxiety and low mood or confidence and self-esteem.
• Level 3 support which includes direct work with the whole family.

Further information can be found on the Family Information Service website or through direct discussion with your FSS link worker.

CAMHS

CAMHS help children and young people up to 18 who are finding it hard to cope with everyday life because of difficult feelings, behaviour or relationships.

You can use their Single Point of Access (SPA) for referrals and access to the Psychological Perspective in Education and Primary Care (PPEP) training catalogue.

Youth Enquiry Service

The Youth Enquiry Service offer free and confidential support, information and counselling to young people (13 to 25) in the High Wycombe area.

Apps

The following apps are all free and may be useful to recommend to young people:

• For Me App: get advice and support on topics such as school and exam stress, through to personal issues, such as self-harm.
• What’s Up? is a free app utilising some of the best CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) and ACT (Acceptance Commitment Therapy) methods to help you cope with Depression, Anxiety, Anger, Stress and more.
• Mood tracking diaries to create your own mood diary
• CALM: relax with Calm, a simple mindfulness meditation app.
• Kooth: free online counselling until 10pm daily for young people aged 13 plus.