Mental health support for young people

No matter what stage a young person is at with their mental health, it is never too early to help maintain and support their emotional wellbeing.

There are lots of ways that pupils and students can get support in school, at home, and in the community.

Mental Health Support Teams

The government and NHS England are introducing Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) in schools across England. MHSTs provide mental health support for young people and their families.

In North Somerset, Off the Record (OTR) and Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust (AWP) are organising the MHSTs.

These teams: 

• offer support to children and young people for mild to moderate mental health difficulties (for example anxiety, low mood, exam stress, and friendship issues)
• use a type of support that is based on evidence called Low Intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to help children and young people tackle their challenges
• support the designated senior mental health lead in each school. They will work to introduce/develop a whole school approach to supporting the emotional wellbeing of children and young people
• give advice to school staff and help contact other specialist services. This is to give children and young people the right support to stay in education

There are currently MHSTs working with a small number of schools in North Somerset. Plans are in place to introduce them more widely.

Right Service, Right Time: a pathway for supporting children and young people’s mental health in North Somerset

North Somerset Council made this pathway document for professionals who work with children and young people. It aims to help them identify mental health issues as early as possible and get the right support at the right time for children and their families.

The guide is broken down into five levels of need. For each stage, professionals can see:

• what might be happening for the child or young person at that stage
• what they need to do to ensure appropriate support is organised for them
• what services are available locally to help them do this

North Somerset Mental Health and Wellbeing ­­­service directory

This directory has information about the mental health services that children, young people, and their families can use in North Somerset.

It explains what each of these services does and how you can get in touch with them.

It also includes some ideas for local activities that can help children and young people look after their wellbeing.

If you are looking for information on specific mental health difficulties and the different treatment options, we suggest these websites.