Joint Support Appointments with the Learning Disability and Mental Health Team (LDMH CAMHS)

What is a Joint Support Appointment?

The Joint Support Appointments are your first appointments with the Learning Disability and Mental Health (LDMH) team. We will offer you up to two Joint Support Appointments. In Joint Support Appointments we work together with families, carers and professionals.

Joint Support Appointments are a space for:

• talking together about your concerns for your child, such as behaviours that feel difficult to manage or that are causing distress
• making sense of these concerns and behaviours
• working together on helpful support strategies which can then be shared across all settings

Who will be there?

The referrer will give us a list of people to invite. If there is anyone else you would like to attend, please let us know. Usually people in the meeting include:

• people from the LDMH team
• other people who work with the young person such as staff from school, social worker, speech and language therapist or other health professionals.

When are Joint Support Appointments?

Joint Support Appointments run on one Tuesday and one Thursday each month. These appointments are 1 hour long.

As we have several appointments it is important that we start and finish on time. Please be aware that if you arrive late you will have a shorter appointment.

Where does Joint Support Appointment take place?

You can choose whether you would like an online video (via Zoom) or a face-to-face appointment at Centenary House.

What will happen during the appointment?

• we will introduce ourselves
• we will agree what to talk about and everyone will have the opportunity to talk about their concerns
• the LDMH team will ask you further questions to try and make sense of the concerns and behaviours. We hope this will help us to identify some strategies and ideas to try
• at the end of the discussion we will agree a plan

What happens after the Joint Support Appointment?

We will ask you to complete a short evaluation form. Your responses help us improve our service.

Following the appointment, we will send you a summary letter including any strategies or actions.

Can I bring my children?

No. The Joint Support Appointment is not appropriate for children to come to. It is harder to talk openly when children are around.

Will my child be given medication or see a doctor at this appointment?

No. This appointment is to help you to understand the concerns or behaviours better and to develop further support strategies. This approach is in line with the STOMP Guidelines