Royal Children's Hospital - For Health Professionals

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Child and Youth Mental Health Service

• CYMHS Service
• CYMHS Programs
• Brochures & Fact Sheets
• Referral
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CYMHS Service

The Child and Youth Mental Health Service (CYMHS) provides specialist mental health services for children and young people and assistance to their families or carers.

CYMHS combines hospital and community-based facilities to provide free and confidential consultation, assessment and treatment of children and young people, 0-18 years, whose:

• Emotional and behavioural disorders are severe or complex;
• Or at risk of becoming so;
• And whose needs cannot be met by other services.

All referrals will be considered on an individual basis, with priority entry given to:

• The likely psychiatric nature of the presenting problem
• The extent of functional impairment in a range of settings (home, school)
• The level of distress experienced by the child, young person and family

CYMHS provides services to children and young people for a range of mental health conditions which may include:

• depression 
• anxiety 
• suicidal or self harming behaviour 
• eating disorders 
• psychosis 
• trauma and 
• severe family relationship difficulties.

Early intervention or other Specialist CYMHS programs may be offered for children or young people who are:

• Living with family members who have mental illness or substance use issues
• Engaging in substance use 
• Children under 3 years of age - will be transferred to the Future Families Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Program 
• In statutory care or in contact with the law
• Have chronic physical illness or disability, including sensory impairment

Specific consideration will be given to children and young people with mental health problems where they are:

• From an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background
• Homeless or have had multiple out of home placements
• From a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse background

CYMHS health professionals assist clients to participate in developing an individual Mental Health treatment plan and with consent, will work in partnership with other agencies.

CYMHS offers a range of services tailored to the needs of the child, young person and his/her carers.  These include:

•  Mental Health Assessment
•  Short-term Care
•  Individual Therapy
•  Family Therapy
•  Group Work
•  Interagency Planning and Consultation
•  Extended Hours Service
•  Referral to other agencies
•  Referral to CYMHS specialist services.

Further information on specialist teams (including hospital services) can be accessed via Community CYMHS.

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CYMHS Programs
CYMHS Programs include:

• Child and Family Therapy Unit
• Child and Youth Forensic Outreach Service
• Child and Youth Mental Health Service Community Clinics
• Child, Adolescent and Family Psychiatry Training Centre
• Mental Health Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Service
• Access and Extended Hours Team
• Future Families Program
• Early Intervention (Koping; Minding Young Minds; Parents Kids and Drugs Program; Dual Diagnosis)
• eCYMHS
• Evolve Therapeutic Services Brisbane North

 

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Brochure & Fact Sheets

An Introduction to Community CYMHS	Behaviour Management
Coping After Suicide: Information for Young People	Depression
Eating Problems	Fears and Anxiety
General Information for Carers	Psychosis
Suicide Prevention	Supporting Children and Young People After Suicide: Information for Parents and Carers
Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD)	Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Grief and Loss

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Referral

To make a referral, in the first instance, contact the

• community team
• hospital in-patient unit
• specialist program or
• general inquires (3310 9444) where you will be directed to the service which will best suit your needs.

Referrals to community teams can be made by contacting the local CYMHS clinic. An Access Team manages all new enquiries and referrals. The Access team has Mental health professionals located at each of the CYMHS community sites who are available to assist week days, 8.30am to 5.00pm. The Access team also provides an extended hour's service located at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. This is available to assist weekdays after-hours 5.00pm to 9.30pm and Saturday 2.00pm to 9.30 pm.

It is preferable that referrals are made via a referring agent such as a General Practitioner, Guidance Officer, Youth Worker, or other health, community and government service provider who has made an initial assessment of the problems or have established ongoing links with the child, young people and their family.

Young people can self-refer. A referring agent is also not necessary where a situation is deemed urgent.

Urgent Referrals: Priority will be given to suicidal, psychotic, severely disturbed and traumatised children and young people whose behaviour is causing, or likely to cause, a significant risk of harm to self or others. URGENT referrals will be responded to within 24 hours.

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Contact information

Phone for general inquiries:	3310 9444
Fax:	3839 8191
Address:	The Institute for Child and Youth Mental Health Ground Level, Cnr Rogers and Water Streets, Spring Hill 4000 PO Box 1507, Fortitude Valley Qld 4006

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