What is CAMHS?
CAMHS is short for ‘Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services’ and refers to services provided by multi-disciplinary teams across the country. CAMHS services are provided by the HSE for the small proportion of children and young people with moderate to severe mental health disorders, who require more specialist supports.
CAMHS teams aim to provide evidence-based, trauma informed assessment and treatment (through community-based teams and regional hospital units) for children and adolescents with moderate to severe mental disorders, based on their identified needs.
Who attends?
CAMHS is available for all young people under 18 years of age, who are experiencing moderate to severe mental disorders that affect their ability to function in day to day activities.
What do CAMHS mean by ‘moderate to severe mental disorders?’
Mental disorders are described on a continuum of severity, ranging from mild to moderate to severe. A number of factors are taken into account when defining whether someone has a moderate to severe mental disorder and these include the diagnosis, formulation, the duration of the symptoms and level of functioning in daily living.
In practice, when we say, “moderate to severe,” it means the mental disorder lasts a long time and is complicated. It causes noticeable distress or problems in daily life. This can affect areas like growth, learning, relationships, physical health, or taking care of oneself.
How to access CAMHS services
To access a CAMHS service you need to be under 18 years old.
A list of approved referral agents to Community CAMHS services can be found in the CAMHS Operational Guideline. It is strongly recommended that the child/adolescent’s GP should be involved in any referral to Community CAMHS services.
Referral to inpatient CAMHS services is via referral from a Consultant Psychiatrist.
CAMHS Operational Guideline (3rd Edition)
Following extensive stakeholder consultation, the HSE CAMHS Operational Guideline was revised to outline expected operational practice for CAMHS teams and support consistency of service delivery throughout the country.
Please note that this is a live document and subject to change. Printed copies may not reflect the most current version
There are a range of standardised forms and resources to support the delivery of CAMHS services
HSE Child and Youth Mental Health Office (CYMHO)
The CYMHO was set up by the HSE in September 2023 to focus on integrating supports for child and youth mental health care across the country. It aims to improve leadership, operational oversight and management of mental health services for children and young people.
