Mental Health Program

Eastern Health CAMHS is a specialist mental health service for children and young people up to the age of 18 years who are displaying symptoms of psychiatric disorder or severe emotional and behavioural disturbance. The service is available to families who live in the central and outer eastern region of Melbourne.

The aim of Eastern Health CAMHS is to reduce the extent and severity of these mental health problems in children and adolescents in our community.

Eastern Health CAMHS is a free service funded by State Government. It comprises three community teams, a mobile adolescent team, an adolescent day program and adolescent inpatient unit.

Confidential assessment and treatment services are provided by a range of clinicians who have specialised in child and adolescent mental health. These include psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, psychiatric nurses, paediatricians and speech therapists. Group therapy and family therapy is available, as well as a range of specialist clinics. Eastern Health CAMHS also provides a consultation service to other agencies.

Making a Referral

Referrals usually come from primary services such as General Practitioners, Paediatricians, Student Support Services or welfare services.

Appointments are also arranged directly with parents, guardians or young people.

All referrals should be directed to the Intake Clinician on 1300 721 927, who will discuss your concerns with you and help you decide on the most appropriate course of action. This may include a referral to another agency.

What to Expect

Once your referral has been accepted by an Intake Worker, you will be given the name of your Case Manager and the time and date of your first appointment.

It is usually helpful if all family members attend the first appointment which last for about 60 - 90 minutes. Your Case Manager will conduct an assessment which will take at least 2 sessions. Following the assessment, your Case Manager will formulate a treatment plan with you.

All Eastern Health CAMHS clients are registered on a confidential database held by the Department of Human Services who fund public health services.

Individual Service Plans

Individual Service Plans (ISPs) are agreements between clients and their Case Managers about the diagnosis, treatment and its focus.

Individual Service Plans (ISPs) are developed on completion of a psychiatric assessment by the Case Manager with the client and family.

These detail:

The major problems

Treatment goals

Strategies to achieve goals

People involved and their responsibilities

Time frames

The following include a range of options for treatment that may be included in Individual Service Plans:

Assessments and Treatments Offered

• Community Treatment
	Most CAMHS treatment occurs in the community. It may also require liaison with the school and involve contact and discussion with teaching staff, to help the child at the school level. Other significant people in the child's life may also be invited to be involved. There are several types of treatment that may be recommended by your Case Manager. The decision to choose a particular treatment is usually determined by the type of mental health problem the child or adolescent is experiencing. Your Case Manager will offer treatment(s) that are known to be the most helpful with this type of problem and will discuss the reasons why these treatments have been chosen. A combination of therapies is often the most appropriate in addressing mental health problems efficiently. Treatments other than those outlined here are available. If one is recommended by your Case Manager, ask for more information.
• Crisis Intervention
	Crisis Intervention is a quick response to a serious, perhaps life-threatening, situation. This involves a brief assessment and planning so that a further crisis can be avoided.
• Assessment of Specific Aspects
	Assessment of specific difficulties may be recommended when a Case Manager needs more information on which to determine the most appropriate treatment plan. This may include assessment of a child's speech, neuro-muscular / sensory / sensory-motor development, and cognitive / thinking or problem solving abilities.
• Medication
	Medication can be of value in the treatment of certain disorders. When medication is recommended it is usually in conjunction with other forms of therapy.
• Family Therapy
	The focus of this intervention is the family system and usually invites close family members to be involved in finding solutions to current problems.
• Group Therapy
	Group Therapy enables group members to help each other through their interaction, modelling and an opportunity to belong to a peer group under the guidance of experienced staff.
• Parental Therapy
	Parental Therapy is where parents who have become stuck in negative cycles over their child's problems are offered support and advice on how to parent these children more effectively.
• Individual Psychotherapy
	Psychotherapy is where the clinician and client develop a therapeutic relationship in order to promote changes in the client's mental state and understanding of the world.
• Supportive Therapy
	Supportive Therapy involves the therapist assisting the client to develop coping strategies in order to deal with their current situations. This may involve seeking out support groups in the community.
• Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
	Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is a technique used to assist the client to overcome their problems by thinking about them in a different way.
• Psychoeducation
	This provides information to the client or family about their mental health and answers questions that they may have about their condition.
• Inpatient Treatment
	This means living in a hospital setting to provide some intensive assessment or treatment. Milieu Therapy uses the unit environment in addition to other forms of treatment, to assist people. The length of stay can vary from 1 day to several weeks or months, depending on the risk and the effectiveness of the treatment.
• Day Program Treatment
	Day Program Treatment is an opportunity to attend a program several days a week with a group of young people to develop better coping skills and a sense of social responsibility. An educational / vocational input to the program may also provide some direction to their lives.

There are several types of treatment that may be recommended by your Case Manager. The decision to choose a particular treatment is usually determined by the type of mental health problem the child or adolescent is experiencing. Your Case Manager will offer treatment(s) that will be the most helpful to you and discuss the reasons why these treatments have been chosen.

A combination of therapies is often the most appropriate in addressing mental health problems efficiently. Treatments other than those outlined here are available. If one is recommended by your Case Manager, ask for more information.

Useful Mental Health Links

Eastern Health
Clive Ward Centre, 16 Arnold Street, Box Hill, Victoria, 3128 Australia
Phone +61-3-9895 4888 Fax +61-3-9895 4844
info@easternhealth.org.au

Angliss - Box Hill - Healesville - Maroondah - Peter James - Yarra Valley