Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health

Helping children and young people to have good emotional wellbeing and mental health is just as important as helping them to be well physically.

In Derbyshire, services in Education, Health, and Social Care are working together to offer a graduated response to emotional wellbeing and mental health. The graduated response is all about children and young people getting the right help, in the right way, from the right person, at the right time. It aims to stop small problems turning into big ones.

For more information about the Graduated Response, see the Inclusion Support Services Section.

If a child or young person needs some support with their emotional wellbeing or mental health, there are a number of different ways to access this:

Information, Advice and Support Services

You can find useful advice and resources about emotional wellbeing and mental health by visiting:

Derbyshire County Council - Young People's Mental Health

Tameside Metropolitan Borough - Children and Young People's Mental Health Support

Derby and Derbyshire Emotional Health and Wellbeing
The Derby and Derbyshire Emotional Health & Wellbeing Website pulls together a range of information from different organisations to help support health and wellbeing. The website provides a one-stop-shop where you can find local information about available emotional health and wellbeing support, and how to access it.

Derby & Derbyshire Emotional Health & Wellbeing Service for Children In Care (DECC) - Action For Children
The DECC is a service commissioned by Derbyshire County Council, Derby City Council and Derby and Derbyshire ICB to provide trauma and attachment informed services for children in care and the systems that support them.

Derbyshire Family Health Services (0-19yrs)
This service includes health visitors, school nurses and early years practitioners. They are able to offer advice and support on a range of issues linked to health and wellbeing. The school nurses offer drop-in sessions at mainstream secondary schools in Derbyshire where young people can discuss any health issues (mental or physical) which are bothering them.

Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust - Mental Health Helpline & Support Service (All ages)
This service offers a free 24/7 helpline for people in Derbyshire and Derby City who require advice about mental health. Trained P3 mental health support staff are on hand to answer calls from members of the public. We tailor our response to each caller's situation. Support is available to people of any age living in Derbyshire/Derby City and experiencing mental health difficulties or concerns. Supporting those under 18, 18 to 65, and 66 and over.

Glossop Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust - 24/7 Mental Health Helpline
Glossop Pennine Mental Health Helpline is here for anyone in the area requiring urgent mental health support – this includes people already known to mental health services, those who are not known, and carers. Telephone: 0800 014 9995 - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Kooth Online Support Service (Derby City, Derbyshire County & Glossop, 11-25yrs)
KOOTH is aimed at all young people aged 11 to 25 and provides online information and support, including the option of 1:1 online chat with a trained counsellor. No referral is needed. The services provide access to text-based counselling support accredited counsellors from 12 noon until 10pm on weekdays and 6pm until 10pm on weekends as well as 24/7 access to online forums where concerns and relevant articles can be shared and discussed. Please visit to sign up and create an account for free.

Qwell (Glossop)
Free, safe and anonymous mental wellbeing support across the UK including free digital mental wellbeing support for adults across the UK. This support includes live chat or messaging with qualified mental health professionals, self-help tools and activities, and an online community live chat available from Monday to Friday, 12pm to 10pm

Build Sound Minds (0-17yrs)
Build Sound Minds Derby and Derbyshire has been commissioned by NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) for all children and young people who are registered with a Derbyshire or Derby City ICB GP Practice, they offer one-to-one support, group work, telephone support and a digital offer. View the Build Sound Minds Leaflet for more information.

Glossop Community Hive (8-18yrs)
For mental health and emotional wellbeing, the Community Hive offers walk-in support in accessible neighbourhood locations across Tameside & Glossop.

Child Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) (0-18yrs)
Child Adolescence Mental Health Services (CAMHS) is commissioned to provide assessments and interventions for children and young people with moderate to severe mental health presentations. CAMHS have different types of services to support different mental health. The service accepts referrals for children and young people up to their 18th birthday. Non-urgent referrals are accepted from any involved professionals such as social workers, school nurses, school professionals, doctors, and educational psychologists.

South Derbyshire and Derby City
Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust - Children's Mental Health Services

North Derbyshire
Chesterfield Royal Hospital - Child & Adolescent Mental Health

Glossop
Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust - Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services

Urgent Referrals
South Derbyshire and Derby City
Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust - CAMHS Liaison Team

North Derbyshire
Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust - Children's Urgent Care Team

Glossop
Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust - CAMHS Urgent Help

Learning Disability CAMHS (0-19yrs)
The Learning Disability CAMHS team works with families of children and young people (aged 0-18) who have a moderate to severe learning disability, behaviours that may be considered challenging or distressing, and/or mental health problems and a GP in Derbyshire (excluding Glossop). The team accept referrals from school, GPs, social workers or another health professional. The team aims to reduce mental health problems and/or reduce behaviours and increase quality of life for young people and their families.

South Derbyshire and Derby City
Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust - Intellectual Disabilities (ID) CAMHS

North Derbyshire
Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust - Learning Disability (LD) CAMHS Team
Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust - Helpful Videos for Parents and Carers

Glossop
Penning Care NHS Foundation Trust - Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services

Mental health services for Young People and Adults

Derby City and Derbyshire
Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust - Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing Specialist Day Services
Joined Up Care Derbyshire - Improving Access to Psychological Services (IAPT)

Glossop
Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust - Talking Therapies

The Young Adults Service

This is a newly designed and developed service, from the voluntary and community sector, to meet the needs of young adults, aged 18 to 25 years.  It has been operating in a small geographical area in Derbyshire since January 2023 as a pilot service.

The overarching aim of the service is young adults when they turned 18. Currently the service only accepts referrals from CAMHS and Adult Mental Health Service for those with a GP in Chesterfield, Buxton or Matlock.

The service explicitly addresses health inequalities with a focus on Four high priority groups which are:

  • Young Adults with MH difficulties who do not meet adult mental health service criteria and have borderline learning disability / learning difficulties
  • Young Adults with a primary diagnosis ASD with social anxiety and / or other mental health disorders
  • Young Adults who are socially vulnerable, or have safeguarding needs, but do not meet the threshold for adult mental health services
  • Young Adults on medication which requires ongoing medical responsibility, this includes for ADHD in over 18s

The Young Adults Service is a psychosocial, therapeutically informed service that supports young adults from aged 17.5 up to the age of 25 years following discharge from CAMHS, or requiring additional support while under the care of Adult Mental Health Services.

Young adults can access for a minimum of 24 weeks. For those who are discharged from CAMHS the YAS service supports with onward transitioning.

There are 3 elements to the service offer. Peer support work which seeks to sit alongside the young adult's journey and is easily accessible even when the young adult has discharge from YAS for up to 2 years. Well-being worker offers 12 sessions CBT and other evidence-based interventions to assist young adults with their discharge from CAMHS. The third element of the service is engagement, this can last up to 12 sessions and assists in a very practical way in the community regarding coping strategies.

Support in Schools and Settings

Mental Health Support Teams in Schools (Compass Changing Lives)
Provide support in schools across Derby, Erewash, Bolsover, the Derbyshire Dales, Chesterfield and the Amber Valley provided by the Compass Changing Lives programme. Working in schools, they help build your skills to cope with: low mood; sadness, low motivation; mild to moderate anxiety; worries, irrational fears and concerns; common challenging behaviours: angry outbursts, pushing boundaries, frustration and distress, family and peer relationship difficulties, difficulty adjusting to change and transition, and difficulty managing emotions. They provide low intensity CBT either one-to-one or in a group setting (usually 6-8 sessions based on what you need) for children and young people aged 5-18.

CAMHS Specialist Community Advisor (SCA)
CAMHS Specialist Community Advisors provide consultations to all professionals from statutory, community and voluntary organisations, about the mental health and wellbeing being of children and young people. Consultations involve the SCA providing evidence based specialist mental health advice, appropriate ongoing support options, guidance, signposting or support to make onward referrals. If you already have established links then please continue to contact your SCA directly.

Derby and Derbyshire Mental Health Pathway Guidance July 2023
Finding the right help at the right time to support children and young people (CYP) with their mental health and wellbeing can be confusing. Schools and settings are placed in different localities that have different support structures or services around them. Some buy in their own mental health support services, others have Mental Health Support Teams (MHST). This guidance has been developed with this in mind to assist those who work with CYP in Derbyshire and Derby City. Schools and settings can add their own information to make it bespoke to them. Local CAMHS Specialist Community Advisors (SCA) can help and support with the development to make it comprehensive and relevant.