Getting advice, help and support for your child’s emotional needs

Thriving means children and young people are able to manage life’s everyday challenges while maintaining good emotional wellbeing.

If you're looking for ways to support your child, there are lots of ways to help them thrive.

Most children and young people do well when they have support from family, friends, schools, and their wider community. This section focuses on encouraging positive mental health and helping to prevent problems before they start.

Support might include joining in with school activities, youth clubs, sports, or creative groups, as well as having strong relationships with trusted adults.

It’s all about helping children and young people build resilience, stay connected, and find healthy ways to cope with life’s ups and downs.

If you are looking for activities or sports for your child to join, you can find a range of organisation and clubs in our Local Offer directory.

Some children and young people may be managing their own emotional wellbeing but still benefit from general advice, information or tools to help them understand their feelings.

If you're looking to support your child or are concerned about their wellbeing, whether it’s to do with friendships, school, or home, here are many local and national services that can help. 
These organisations offer advice and signposting for children and young people with mild or short-term difficulties, those managing their own mental health, or those recovering from a period of distress.

Support organisations

• General Resources: Information, tools and resources about children and young people’s emotional wellbeing and mental health, including online self-help and support
• Kooth Digital: Free, anonymous, online mental health and wellbeing platform for ages 11-25 including self-help resources like community support, articles, discussion boards and online forums
• Good Thinking: Providing tools and resources to manage difficulties such as anxiety, stress, sleep difficulties and low mood

Explore more local services and organisations through the Mental Wellbeing Directory for support with emotional wellbeing and mental health.

Help for children and young people who need more support with their emotional wellbeing. This means they may be feeling anxious, sad or struggling with other emotions and they need extra help to feel better.

Support may involve talking to a professional like a counsellor or therapist to help your child with their unique problems. The goal is to give your child the right tool and guidance so that your child can feel better and more confident in managing their emotions.

 If your child has mild to moderate mental health problems and would benefit from support from community services there are organisations that can help. 

Support organisations

Brent Partnership LYRA

Brent Partnership LYRA (Local Young People’s Resources and Advice Service) provides emotional wellbeing and mental health support for children and young people aged 5 -18, and up to 25 for those with SEND.

LYRA provides early support for children and young people with emotional wellbeing concerns and mild to moderate mental health needs, helping them access the right support before difficulties escalate. By bringing local services together into one joined-up offer, LYRA makes it easier for families to get the right support at the right time.

Support includes:

• peer support groups
• mentoring programmes
• support to build resilience and confidence
• coping strategies and psychoeducation
• brief interventions and therapeutic support

how to get support

Referrals can be made by families, GPs, schools, or professionals working with children and young people.

All referrals go through the CNWL Single Point of Access (SPA).

• Email: cnw-tr.spa@nhs.net
• Phone: 0800 023 4650

Eligibility criteria

LYRA supports children and young people who:

• live in Brent, attend a school or college in Brent, and/or are registered with a GP in Brent (must meet 2 out of 3 criteria)
• have mild to moderate mental health needs
• are experiencing mild anxiety, stress, low mood, or low self-esteem
• are displaying mild behavioural concerns, emotional regulation difficulties, or transition-related stress

Other organisations

• Kooth Digital: Free, anonymous online mental health and wellbeing platform for ages 11-25, offering brief one to one goal-based counselling
• Childline: Free, confidential service supporting for children and young people under 19 including online counselling and one to one support for those needing therapeutic conversations

For more local services and organisations offering support with emotional wellbeing and mental health, explore Mental Wellbeing Directory.

If you're struggling to cope and haven't been able to find support, or you think your child may need a specialist diagnosis, you may need some more help.

CNWL Brent CAMHS (Central North West London; Brent, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) provides mental and emotional health specialist services for children and young people up to 18 years old their families and carers.

We provide help to those who are experiencing difficult thoughts, feelings and experiences, emotional, behavioural and relationship difficulties in family life, school or the wider world.
These include:

• bullying
• eating difficulties
• family issues
• anger
• sadness
• worry
• finding it hard to concentrate or sit still
• trouble with friends
• unusual thoughts

CAMHS is a team of specialist mental health professionals, which includes:

• child and adolescent psychiatrists
• child and adolescent psychotherapists
• clinical psychologists
• family psychotherapists
• specialist nurse practitioners

We offer support including in-person, individual, on-line and group therapy, talking therapy, art therapy, family therapy, treatments, and urgent care.

Find out more about Brent CAMHS

How to make a referral

Families, carers and young people can speak to a GP's who can do a referral on your behalf.

Referrals are also accepted from schools, social care services, youth centres, youth offending organisations, and other health and social care professionals.

Young people, families, and carers can contact Brent CAMHS for advice on how to get help and support:

• Telephone: 020 3317 5050
• Email: brentcamhs.cnwl@nhs.net

Opening hours: Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm (closed on public holidays)

Support organisations

• Brent Specialist CAMHS: Organisation offers assessment and treatment for children and young people up to the age of 18 with moderate to severe and complex mental health difficulties such as ongoing depression, anxiety, trauma, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and more.
• Brent Talking Therapies: Free, confidential support for Brent residents aged 17 and over experiencing mental health issues like depression, anxiety, stress, low self-esteem through structured, intensive psychological support.
• Brent Centre for Young People: Providing medium to long term therapy for children and young people aged 14-21, experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties.

Explore more local services and organisations through the Mental Wellbeing Directory for support with emotional wellbeing and mental health.

Call SPA on 0800 0234 650 if you need urgent help in a mental health crisis.

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For children and young people struggling with very difficult emotions who may be at risk of harm. This support focuses on keeping them safe and working with professionals and trusted individuals to provide urgent help.

If a young person or child's life is at risk and you need urgent medical assistance e.g. you suspect someone has taken an overdose, you should call 999 or go to an A&E department.

Alternatively, you can contact your local police on 101 at any time.

You can also call NHS 111 and select the mental health option if you are experiencing something that makes you feel unsafe, distressed, or worried about your mental health.

SPA (Single Point of Access)

CNWL's Single Point of Access (SPA) is a 24 hour telephone service which offers support, advice and signposting to children, young people and adults who may be experiencing a mental health crisis.

Family, carers and professionals can also contact SPA for urgent mental health advice.

In a mental health emergency or for urgent advice, you can contact our all-age SPA:

• Freephone: 0800 023 4650
• Email: cnw-tr.spa@nhs.net

CAMHS Urgent Care Team

The CAMHS urgent care teams work in conjunction with local hospitals and existing local CAMHS services to provide access for children and young people up to the age of 18 to a dedicated crisis and liaison service when they are experiencing an acute mental health or emotional crisis.

Our aim is that young people are seen by a CAMHS clinician at first point of contact no matter what time of day or night. We provide rapid response, prompt assessment and where appropriate time limited brief interventions by CAMHS urgent care clinicians.

Referrals are made directly from A&E or Community CAMHS teams.

The CNWL Brent CAMHS Urgent team (UCT) operates from a hub within Northwick Park Hospital. 

Support organisations

• Hestia: Brent Cove: Free, confidential drop-in service for Brent residents aged 16+ experiencing emotional distress or crisis offering one to one emotional support, safety planning/risk escalation and signposting to longer-term services.
• CNWL Early Intervention Service: Supporting residents aged 14+ who are experiencing symptoms of first episode psychosis providing specialise early treatment and recovering like mental health needs assessments and diagnosis, family support and education, medication and psychological therapies.
• CNWL SPA: In an emergency or mental health crisis, the Single Point of Access is open 24 hours, 7 days a week all year, providing support, advice and signposting to children, young people and adults experiencing a mental health crisis.

Explore more local services and organisations through the Mental Wellbeing Directory for support with emotional wellbeing and mental health.