Medway Young Persons’ Wellbeing Service (YWPS) work with children and young people aged 0 to 18 in Medway with complex mental health difficulties.

Support is provided in different ways depending on the needs of the child, the young person and their family.

To reach the threshold for specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), children and young people need to have severe mental health difficulties, including persistent and impairing symptoms, risk to self or others and/or complex presentation related to disorders such as:

  • depression and self-harm
  • OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder)
  • anxiety
  • ADHD (attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder)
  • eating disorders
  • psychosis
  • autism.

A team of professionals provide assessments and treatment packages for the child or young person and their family. This may include cognitive behavioural therapy, family therapy, child psychotherapy, psycho-pharmacology and group psychotherapy.

The service also provides advice and support to family members, consultation to professionals and training for schools on how to identify and deal with mental health difficulties in children and young people.

Referrals are mostly accepted from GPs, health professionals and social services.

More about Medway Young Persons' Wellbeing Service.