YOUnited Self Referral

Who is the referral going to?

The referral is going to the YOUnited Referral Hub, a partnership between three different organisations offering mental health support to young people in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough:

Cambridge & Peterborough Foundation Trust (NHS)
Ormiston Families
Centre 33

After receiving your referral information, the YOUnited team will review the information and decide which organisation above is best placed to offer you support. Alternatively, we may suggest a mental health service attached to your school as we are closely linked with the  Mental Health Support Teams (MHST). 

We will then get in touch with you either by phone, text or letter to talk to you about next steps (see more information below in ‘Support until you hear from us’).

What do we offer support with?

We can help with a broad range of emotional or mental health needs, either directly or by signposting you to more specialist services. You may not be sure what is going on for you or what type of support may be best, but we have listed some examples below:

Anxiety; Worries; Stress; Panic; Obsessive / compulsive type behaviour; Low mood or depression; Mood changes affecting routine, Anger; Relationship issues, Family breakdown, Conflict, Loss & Bereavement, Impacts of bullying; Traumatic experiences; Exploring your identity (gender, culture, sexual etc.); Things putting you at risk (suicidal thoughts, self-harm, eating difficulties, drug and alcohol use etc.); Difficulties regulating your emotions

In our first meeting, we will think with you and decide together what type of support will be best.

What does support look like?

We offer various kinds of support around your mental health and wellbeing tailored to your needs. By filling in this form you have completed the first step in helping us to understand how we can support you. The second step will be an invitation to speak with us in more detail about your needs. This conversation will include ensuring you understand all the options available to you. You can then choose what feels the best fit of support for you.

Generally, we offer talking-based interventions (or using more creative ways to communicate). Some are based on cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) and are structured around anxiety and low mood, some are less structured such as counselling.

We have a mixture of professionals working in the YOUnited Team such as counsellors, therapists, psychologists and they all are trained to make you feel safe and understood.

We try where possible to offer a choice of engaging in support either in person, online or by phone. Generally medical guidelines advise against offering medication such as anti-depressants to young people under the age of 18 as there is no clear evidence proving its effects for young people. However, in rare cases we may consult with other services who can advise on offering medication alongside talking therapy.

 

Why do we need this information?

The referral form is intended to help us understand what you are currently struggling with so we can respond in the most helpful way. Some questions are required to be completed while others allow you to say as much or as little as you want. The most important aim of this form is to understand what support you are looking for.

Some of the questions are for data collection purposes. This helps us to understand who is accessing support and what we can do to improve access to our service for young people.

The questionnaire is divided into three sections:
1. Consent about information sharing between services
2. General information about yourself 
3. What’s going on for you at the moment

Who will know about my referral and see my information?

We ask you for two separate consents regarding the sharing of your information:

1. Consent to share your information within YOUnited

Your information will be stored securely in a database shared between the 3 organisations listed above. You will then be offered a first appointment with one of the partner agencies or they will advise/signpost you to the appropriate service to support your needs.

The information you share is confidential unless you give permission for records to be shared with other NHS staff such as your GP (Doctor) or similar.
In circumstances where we are concerned about risk of harm to yourself and/or others we may want to speak to someone else about support to keep you safe. We would always try and speak to you first. Therefore, will be asking you for contact details of parents (carers/guardians) in case we are worried about you, but unable to speak with you.

2. Consent to share your information with other medical professionals

We are using the same recording system as other medical professionals such as your GP, staff in hospital or other NHS professionals. We will therefore ask you if you consent to your records being shared with other medical professionals. This would mean:

i) we can view other health related records on your file and

ii) other professionals can view our records on a strictly need to know basis.

This can sometimes be helpful to get you to the right support more quickly. However, we can support you regardless of this consent.

 

Support until you hear from us

Once we have read your referral and decided which service is best to support your needs, we will contact you via letter. This letter will indicate the approximate waiting time for a first appointment (up to 18 weeks). You can then either book your own appointment with a link sent via text or you will receive a letter with the appointment time and date.

If we see that you are attending a school that is attached to a Mental Health Support Team we may transfer you to that team and we will send you a letter to explain this.

If you feel unsafe, in crisis and need immediate help you can call the NHS First response Service on 111 Option 'Mental Health Support' and a mental health professional can guide you to further support.

Whilst you are waiting to hear from us, you may also want to consider speaking to a trusted adult, your GP or your local A&E Department.

We hope you found this information useful and look forward to receiving your referral.

If you have any difficulties completing the form, please get in touch by calling 0300 3000 830 (please leave a message) or emailing younited@cpft.nhs.uk.

Who is the referral going to?

The referral is going to the YOUnited Referral Hub, a partnership between three different organisations offering mental health support to young people in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough:

Cambridge & Peterborough Foundation Trust (NHS)
Ormiston Families
Centre 33

After receiving the referral, the YOUnited team will review the referral information and decide which organisation above is best placed to offer your child or young person support. Alternatively, we may suggest a service attached to your child or young person's school as we are closely linked with the Mental Health Support Teams (MHST).

We will then get in touch by phone, text or letter to talk to you about next steps (see more information below in ‘Support until you hear from us’).

 

What do we offer support with?

We can help with a broad range of emotional or mental health needs, either directly or by signposting you to more specialist services. You may not be sure what it is your child or young person needs support with or what type of support may be best, but we have listed some examples below:

Anxiety; Worries; Stress; Panic; Obsessive / compulsive type behaviour; Low mood or depression; Mood changes affecting routine, Anger; Relationship issues, Family breakdown, Conflict, Loss & Bereavement, Impacts of bullying; Traumatic experiences; Exploring your identity (gender, culture, sexual etc.); Things putting you at risk (suicidal thoughts, self-harm, eating difficulties, drug and alcohol use etc.); Difficulties regulating your emotions

In our first meeting, we will think with together with you & your child / young person and decide together with you what type of support will be best.

 

What does support look like?

We offer various kinds of support around children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing tailored to individual needs. This can include parent directed support as well as support with young people, depending on the things that we discuss.

Filling in this form is the first step in us helping to understand how we can best support you and your child or young person. The second step will be an invitation to speak with us in more detail about your child or young person’s needs. This can sometimes be with parents and carers only, but we encourage young people to join this conversation where appropriate (particularly those aged 10 years and above)

This conversation will include ensuring you (parents and carers) and your child or young person (where appropriate) understand all the options available. We will think together about what feels like the best fit of support for you and your child or young person.

Generally, we offer talking-based interventions (but we can use more creative ways to communicate where talking is difficult). Some are based on cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) and are structured around anxiety and low mood; some are less structured such as counselling.

We have a mixture of professionals working in the YOUnited Team such as counsellors, therapists, psychologists and they all are trained to ensure safety, and enable you and your child or young person to feel understood.

We try where possible to offer a choice of engaging in support either in person, online or by phone.

In general, medical guidelines advise against offering medication such as anti-depressants to young people under the age of 18 as there is no clear evidence proving its effects for young people. However, in rare cases we may consult with other services who can advise on offering medication alongside talking therapy.

 

What if my child doesn’t want help?

If you are struggling as a parent or carer with your child or young person’s emotional wellbeing and are worried that your child or young person does not wish to engage with support, we would still welcome a referral. This enables us to at least provide some helpful advice, guidance and signposting to you as a parent or carer.

However, it is important to note that consent will be required from a child or young person to undertake any direct support with them. It is important that their views and wishes are taken seriously and that they engage with services when they feel ready, able and respected.

 

Why do we need this information?

The referral form is intended to help us understand what your child or young person is currently struggling with so we can respond in the most helpful way. Some questions are required to be completed while others allow you to say as much or as little as you want. The most important aim of this form is to understand what support you and your child or young person are looking for.

Some of the questions are for data collection purposes. This helps us to understand who is accessing support and what we can do to improve access to our service for young people.

The questionnaire is divided into three sections:
1. Consent about information sharing between services
2. General information about you and your child or young person
3. What’s going on for your child or young person at the moment

 

Who will know about my referral and see this information?

We ask you for two separate consents regarding the sharing of information:

1. Consent to share information within YOUnited

Your child or young person’s information will be stored securely in a database shared between the 3 organisations listed above. You will then be offered a first appointment with one of the partner agencies or they will signpost you to the most appropriate service to support your child or young person’s needs.

The information you share is confidential unless you give permission for records to be shared with other NHS staff such as your child or young person’s GP.

2. Consent to share your information with other medical professionals

We are using the same recording system as other medical professionals such as your child or young person’s GP, staff in hospital or other NHS professionals. We will therefore ask you if you consent to their records being shared with other medical professionals. This would mean:

i) we can view other health related records on their and

ii) other professionals can view our records on a strictly need to know basis.

This can sometimes be helpful to get your child or young person to the right support more quickly. However, we can support them regardless of this consent.

 

Support until you hear from us

Once we have read the referral and decided which service is best to support your child or young person’s needs, we will contact you via letter. This letter will indicate the approximate waiting time for a first appointment (up to 18 weeks). You can then either book your own appointment with a link sent via text or you will receive a letter with the appointment time and date.

If we see that your child or young person attends a school that is attached to a  Mental Health Support Team we may transfer them to that team and we will send you a letter to explain this.

If you feel your child or young person is unsafe, in crisis and needs immediate help, you can call the NHS First response Service on 111 Option 'Mental Health Support' and a mental health professional can guide you to further support.

Whilst you are waiting to hear from us, you may also want to consider speaking to your child or young person’s GP or local A&E Department.

We hope you found this information useful and we look forward to receiving your referral.

If you have any difficulties completing the form, please get in touch by calling 0300 3000 830 (please leave a message) or emailing  younited@cpft.nhs.uk.