“We put children and young people at the heart of all that we do”

Potters Bar

CAMHS Service

What we provide

Potters Bar Clinic offers CAMHS Tier 4 low secure services for young people aged 13 up to 18 years with a wide range of disorders and complex needs.

Our aim is to deliver, treat and empower each young person to live a safe and independent life and reach their individual potential.

Environment

Our 18 bed inpatient unit is set over two wards (Opal and Jasper) and offers a safe and nurturing environment to support and aid recovery. The young people are encouraged to individualise their own en-suite bedrooms in order for them to feel comfortable and at home.

Each ward has a laundry, dining area, quiet room and communal living space to give the young people the opportunity to socialise with their peers and be as independent as possible in an environment where they do not feel isolated.

Onsite we have an Ofsted registered school to enable the young people to continue with their schooling whilst in treatment. They are legally required to attend school unless medical staff consider they are too unwell to do so. The school timetable and attendance expectations are tailored to meet their needs. This helps to ease re-integration and transition to home or the community when they are ready for discharge. Each young person will have their own individual education programme.

Approach

We have a dedicated multidisciplinary team for each ward, providing person centred treatment and care that is tailored to meet each individual’s needs.

Our therapies focus on the four core skill areas, mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulations and interpersonal effectiveness. We aim to equip the young people with coping skills that will increase resilience, reduce self-injury and enable them to monitor, regulate and manage their emotions.

Young people are also given the opportunity to engage in appropriate therapeutic programmes such as family and trauma therapy and Real Work Simulation Programme.

Admission Criteria

Aged 13 up to 18 years
Mixed gender
Detained under Part II or Part III of the Mental Health Act 1983
Cannot be safely managed in an open environment, does not require a medium secure setting, and is assessed as having needs than cannot be managed by shorter term admission to a PICU
May be under a restriction order by the Ministry of Justice
May present a risk of harm to others or themselves or suffers from a behavioural disturbance that requires inpatient care, specialist risk management procedures and a specialist treatment intervention