Let's rejoin the conversation and continue to hear about the SWITCH Program where  Dawn Bere, Post 16 Personal Adviser & Enhanced Evidence-Based Practitioner and Christopher Allan – Early Help Professional at Bedford Borough talk with two of their service users, Georgia and Stephen about  ‘The Forgotten Population’ – young people who are not in education, employment or training (or NEET for short). Georgia and Stephen give very frank accounts of how they were supported by Dawn and Christopher’s team within the SWITCH project – a project designed to provide targeted support to NEET young people.

The risks associated with being a NEET young person is significant in terms of developing mental health difficulties and falling by the wayside in society with increased risk of getting into crime, drugs and gang violence. Come listen to the work that is happening in Bedford.

Come listen to Dawn Bere, Post 16 Personal Adviser & Enhanced Evidence-Based Practitioner and Christopher Allan - Early Help Professional at Bedford Borough talk with two of their service users, Georgia and Stephen about  'The Forgotten Population' - young people who are not in education, employment or training (or NEET for short). Georgia and Stephen give very frank accounts of how they were supported by Dawn and Christopher's team within the SWITCH project - a project designed to provide targeted support to NEET young people.

The risks associated with being a NEET young person is significant in terms of developing mental health difficulties and falling by the wayside in society with increased risk of getting into crime, drugs and gang violence. Come listen to the work that is happening in Bedford.

Just to let you know that we're taking a short break over December so that we can support other ventures throughout December. Many of you may already know that December specifically can be a difficult time of year, so we clinicians that are involved with the podcast felt it important to divert our efforts elsewhere for the time being.

But don't worry..! We'll be back and will release our next episode on Monday 6th January 2020.

Navigating local support and services for children with special educational needs can be cumbersome and stressful. Come listen and learn all about the Bedford Borough Local Offer Service that works tirelessly to bring information about what's out there into one easy to access website. We discuss how to access the services and also have first-hand feedback from some of our service users about how having a 'one-stop-shop' has improved their own well being and that of their family. To take a look at the Bedford Borough Local Offer website, just click the link or cut and paste if you'd prefer. If you are a local service that wants to be included on the local offer website, you can also click the link below and make contact. The more services that make themselves known, the richer the mix of support is available to SEND children.

https://localoffer.bedford.gov.uk/

A quick request from us at CAMHSTalk - do you use any mental health mobile phone or tablet apps? Which ones? how are they useful? would you recommend any specifically? We are going to do a podcast where we review mental health apps on the show and help you to decide which could be useful to you. We are going to bring together professionals and service users and ask them their views. There are loads of apps out there. Some that the CAMHSTalk team already know about, but we want to know about the apps that you use, so we can look at those too.

We hope to bring you the best of the rest.. and make it easier for you to find the apps that work for you..

Come let us know by Clicking here...!

In part 3 we continue the discussions around the need for developing emotional language and where we can support this to happen. We also take a look at not making assumptions about the meaning of expressed emotions such as anger or withdrawal. In the discussion, we also explore generational issues such as parental role modelling and what impacts on our choices around emotional expression.

As this is the final part of the episode, I'd like to say a big thank you to Robert Lindsay, Mark Thomas-O'Keefe, Nicki Scott, Jay and Arron who shared, discussed and debated key issues around men's mental health. It was a privilege to have contributed to the national/worldwide movement and we hope that you have enjoyed listening in on our discussion. If you'd like to comment. please feel free to share your thoughts or ideas, we would be happy to hear from you!

In part 2 of this episode, we continue the discussion around men's mental health and talk about the difficulties that an autism spectrum condition can add to seeking support from others. We are so privileged to be able to hear first-hand from the panel about how difficult it is to seek out support, be able to trust others and how others can misinterpret this for lack of motivation.

The issue of men's mental health has been the focus of a lot of debate and a common theme is how difficult it is for men to open up and talk about how they feel. In this three-part episode, we have brought together a group of men, both service users and professionals who share and debate the issues that affect men today. This is a good opportunity to listen in on a heartfelt discussion about stigma, society expectations and the ways in which men are 'supposed to be'. In this discussion, we talk about our own experiences of mental health issues, how we manage them and what needs to be different.

In this episode, we offer you a great opportunity to listen in on a discussion between me, Mark Taylor, an Eating Disorders Nurse within CAMHS and a service user who reflects on her own experience of her recovery, her struggles and how she came to understand the mechanisms of the illness. You will also hear some great advice if you are a young person who is struggling with eating or a carer looking after someone who is. It's rare that you hear a young person share their story in such heartfelt detail, so sit back and have a listen..

For additional help, you can click on the link below and access the wealth of resources that are offered by Beat, the UK’s eating disorder charity

BEAT Eating Disorders.

I just thought you'd want to know about a free event that's been offered by our Child and Adolescent Emotional Wellbeing Programme. The team are following on from their very successful first batch of events that they ran earlier this year. These events have been very popular and were attended by carers, parents and professionals together. Anyone can attend and it's not necessary for your child to be receiving treatment in CAMHS but they do need to have a Bedfordshire GP. There are future dates and events planned and we will let you know as they are confirmed.

Why don't you follow the team on Twitter? - @camhswellbeing1

The first event is on Monday 14th October 2019 between 6pm and 830pm at King's House, 245 Amptill Road, Bedford MK42 9AZ. In this event, the team will focus on Anxiety, panic and school pressure to enable you to find ways to support the children and young people in your life. The team will cover both signs and symptoms as well as strategies to help manage these difficulties.

To register for the event click here or copy and paste this address into your browser:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/child-adolescent-wellbeing-parent-info-session-anxiety-tickets-74253220381

This is a great opportunity to meet with professionals and to ask questions in a friendly and informal setting. Come along and see what you think..