PRIMARY MENTAL HEALTH

The Primary mental health work service (PMHW) is a targeted early intervention and prevention children’s mental health team in Northumberland. The team is composed of a variety of backgrounds, including: registered mental health nurses, general nursing, counsellors and psychotherapists, social workers, occupational therapists, education metal health practitioners and peer mentors. 

 

The PMHW Service provides support to those that fit the criteria for a ‘getting help ‘support in the Northumberland graduated approach and Thrive model.

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The Primary Mental Health Workers (PMHWs) provide county-wide support for those children and young people aged 0-18 years who are registered with a Northumberland GP. Our Educational Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs) and Peer Mentor Worker provides support for those attending a trailblazer school through the ‘Be You’ mental health in schools programme.

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The service currently operates a 9am-5pm Monday to Friday service. Referrals to the service are currently though a number of routes from professionals and self-referrals. These can be made directly to the service using the service referral form, the service consultation routes including the telephone and school-based consultation routes and via the Northumberland Multi agency referral form (MARF) - access the MARF form by clicking here.

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What kind of support is available?

The PMHWs work with the following needs –

• Anxiety including Generalised Anxiety, Panic, Social Anxiety and Phobias

• Habit behaviours of an obsessive-compulsive nature

• Low Mood and Depression

• Emotional Regulation and Anger

• Early Eating Distress and Poor Body Image

• Self-harm and suicidal ideation without specific intent or planning

• Difficult Adjustments to traumatic life events including Parental Separation

• Bereavement, including a single traumatic event

• Behavioural Disruption that requires a mental health formulation 

 

This will include dual working with children and young people if they are receiving an intervention from another service where the PMHW team are the most appropriate service to provide the above support.

The EMHPs work with the following needs: 

• Mild to moderate Anxiety, including worry management

• Simple Phobias

• Mild / Early onset behaviours of an obsessive-compulsive nature

• Behavioural Difficulties

• Low Mood

• Superficial or Historic Self Harm

• Sleep when related to the above needs

• Problem Solving

• Self Esteem

 

The core local offers of the PMHW part of the service are to offer: 

• Triage assessments and formulations, and evidenced based interventions on a one-to-one and group-based programmes

• Consultation models to provide advice, guidance and signposting to professionals and parents/ carers working to support the mental health needs of children and young people

• Liaison support through the multi-agency early help hub processes. This role provides advice and signposting and a mental health perspective on the cases, to ensure that the right service is accessed at the right time to promote the mental wellbeing of the young person

• Teaching and training to raise awareness of children’s mental health with colleagues in a range of universal services across education, health, social care, youth and community and voluntary services

The core offers of the Be You mental health in schools programme are to provide –

• Assessments and formulations and brief low intensity evidence-based interventions on a one to one and group-based programmes and preventative approaches

• Support and advise to school settings to support the delivery of whole school approaches

• An advice, support and signposting role to ensure that children and young people have access to the right support at the right time engaging with other services

The PMHW Service also has a Peer Mentor Worker that delivers support to those attending a trailblazer school. This core offer of support includes the facilitation of a training package to children’s and young people to become peer mentors to support the emotional well-being of pupils within schools. The programme is based on the Anna Freud evidenced based peer mentor programme. 

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Useful links and further information

Further information and self-help resources can be accessed from: 

• Primary Mental Health work section of the Northumbria Healthcare website 

• Be You website and the Be You padlet

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You can also check out this padlet, which contains lots of wellbeing resources, videos and information to signpost to services that can support wellbeing in children, young people and their families.