Psychoeducation in CAMHS

This information helps you and your parents and carers to learn and understand the information and apply it to your own situation. For example, you might learn about how your body and mind work together, how to look after it and how to cope when you experience a difficult situation and how this might make you feel. Psychoeducation is often used at CAMHS (which stands for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services). Click here to learn more about CAMHS.

Why do CAMHS use psychoeducation?

Psychoeducation is used to encourage you, your parents and carers to ask questions, share thoughts and learn about the psychoeducation. This might help you to:
• Build understanding of your needs and strengths to build a toolbox of coping skills to help improve symptoms
• Feel empowered and more in control
• Promote self-management skills
• Reduce stigma, isolation and anxiety
• To help learn what your mental health needs mean to you, what it feels like and where to go for support

When is psychoeducation used?

Psychoeducation may be provided or requested at any point.  CAMHS clinicians will work with you to consider;

• what you already know.
• When you should have psychoeducation
• How you would like to be given this information e.g. having this written down. They will also take account of your feelings that might be about the new information.

Psychoeducation is not a one-off process.  For some people, this may be a refresher of things that have been considered before or new information.

Where can you get psychoeducation?

CAMHS provide a range of sign-posted links, resources and places you can go to for support and guidance, before, in between or after any direct work that you may be offered.   Click here to see the resources that CAMHS offer young people and their families.

CAMHS clinicians strive to offer psychoeducation in a way that best meets the needs of young people and their parents and carers that is inclusive of any learning or communication need and style. All our online resources have ReachDeck available. ReachDeck is a web accessibility toolbar from Texthelp.  This accessibility toolbar allows you to translate our content, use a screen reader, convert content into an MP3 and more. Click here to learn more about ReachDeck. We all have different ways to make use of this information – one size does not fit all.

Some important things to remember:

• Psychoeducation may be provided as part of the direct sessions with a CAMHS worker or take place outside of sessions through making use of signposted resources e.g., Health for Teens resources, Guidance etc
• Psychoeducation may include exercises or homework where children and young people are encouraged to discover information for themselves
• Psychoeducation will always be undertaken in collaboration with children, young people and their parents and carers
• Psychoeducation is helpful for a range of issues including sleep, nutrition and diet, anxiety, relationships and more
• Try to access information from safe, reputable charities and services. Information used on these charities and services will be from safe reputable sources – practice-based evidence or evidence-based material (e.g. NICE guidance)

Click here to view psychoeducation resources created by CAMHS.