Who are we? 

City and Hackney is firmly committed to whole system joined up working between organisations. To develop better ways of partners and organisations working together to deliver care services that can reach more children, young people, families, schools and the wider community the CAMHS Alliance was created in 2015.

What do we do? 

Different teams have staff with different skills to meet the different needs of different people. Working together means the right service can be involved whether there are concerns about emotional well-being or behaviour and mental health.

The different services in the CAMHS Alliance deal with a range of issues from common worries that get in the way of everyday life to more serious difficulties that might last or have lasted longer. 

All staff in the teams understand that friendly, non-judgemental support is important and can listen, talk and think together with you, about what is going on and what might help.

You can find out what the individual teams involved in the CAMHS Alliance offer below and in the City and Hackney CAMHS Alliance directory of services 2023 here (Pdf 658KB).

CAMHS Alliance Projects running in Hackney  

• Parenting Programmes Directory City & Hackney
• Wellbeing and Mental Health in Schools (WAMHS) Project
• CAMHS Extended Crisis Service - A & E hospital service

Which services are involved in the CAMHS Alliance?

The Mental Health Support Team (MHST) works with children, young people, parents and carers and school staff to promote emotional well-being. Universal offer of parents workshops through to targeted 1:1 support via referral from the school or settings Designated Mental Health Lead. 

First Steps is an NHS psychology service for children and young people aged 0 – 18 years and their families. The aim of the service is to offer early help with any difficulties related to behaviour, emotions and relationships before they become more complicated or difficult to address. This service is a City and Hackney CAMHS service and works in partnership with other CAMHS services.

CAMHS Disability Service works with children and young people with moderate to profound learning disabilities. They meet with children, young people and families to understand them better think together about concerns and work on agreed goals for positive change. CAMHS Disability service works with other professionals to join up strategies and approaches

Specialist CAMHS offers assessment and help to children, young people and their families with significant emotional, behavioural and mental health difficulties. 

Children and Families Clinical Service works with children and young people and their parents and carers who are receiving support from Children's Social Care, Young Hackney, the Family Support Service and the Youth Offending Team. The service offers a full range of CAMHS support including specialist clinical assessments and individual, family and group therapy. 

Off Centre - counselling, advice and information psycho-social service for young people aged between 11 and 25 who live, work or study in Hackney.

Family Action provide practical, emotional and financial support to those who are experiencing poverty, disadvantage and social isolation.