Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS)
CAMHS is used as a term for all services that work with children and young people who have difficulties with their emotional or behavioural wellbeing. It stands for Child and adolescent mental health services.
Children and young people may need help with a wide range of issues at different points in their lives. Parents and carers may also need help and advice to deal with behavioural or other problems their child is experiencing. Parents, carers and young people can receive direct support through CAMHS.
Common Presentations in Young People
The common presentations in young people for which they can be referred to the CAMHS teams are:
- Recurrent headaches or tummy aches
- Secondary enuresis
- Lack of appetite and loss of weight
- Isolating themselves/avoidance
- Dissociative episodes
- Not talking/mute
- School refusal
- Seeing and hearing things
- Decline in school performance
- Temper tantrums
- Self-harming behaviors
- Talking about death or suicide
Services offered by CAMHS
CAMHS team at Kiarong Psychiatric Service offers the following services:
- Psychiatric OPD
- Psychologist
- Social worker
- CAMHS nursing team
- Outreach services like home visit and school visit
- Inpatient Services if necessary
How do I get help from CAMHS?
CAMHS accepts mental health referrals up to the age of 18 years for children and young people living in Brunei Darussalam.
Any professional seeking to make a referral must endeavour to see the child or young person together with their families/carers and obtain their willingness for a referral to take place. .
Referrals can be made in the following ways:
- Self-referrals are accepted and the service user / family can call the CAMHS nurses during office hours on working days at Kiarong Psychiatric Services on 2425090 who can advise and give feedback.
ยท Alternatively, you can refer through GP or any other doctor who can write a letter of referral through Bruins and call the psychiatrist on call.
- Similarly teachers or principal can call the Kiarong CAMHS office during working hours and take advice.
- Other agencies like JAPEM, Police or lawyers can refer cases by writing a letter of referral to the Psychiatry Department Kiarong.
- In case of emergency visit the Accident and Emergency Department in Ripas Hospital.