Support for Children & Young People (CYP)

What we offer

Who are we?

The CYP Wellbeing Service is the hub for all mental health referrals for young people in Brighton & Hove, including CAMHS. It is delivered by YMCA DownsLink Group.

Please note if the child/young person is currently in therapy, we will be unable to accept the referral, until that treatment has ended.

What do we do?

We offer a range of short-term support options for children and young people with mild to moderate mental health needs. All referrals are looked at on a case-by-case basis.

  • Children & young people aged 4-17: You’ll find support options for this age group below. Referrals can be made using the forms on the right. There will be an option within the form if you wish to request an ASC or ADHD assessment from CAMHS. Please note that the Brighton and Hove Wellbeing Service serves as a referral gateway, but any questions regarding the ADHD/ASC pathway should be directed to CAMHS.

  • Young people aged 18-25: Click here to view the support options for this age group. Referrals can be made from that page.

Our current service offer

We currently have long waits of several months for therapy appointments in our service due to high levels of referrals. Unfortunately, waiting times for some specialist service offers can be up to a year. We therefore encourage people to make a referral as soon as possible.

We are currently offering appointments online via video calls with some face-to-face appointments possible where there is presenting need.

There will be a wait for your first appointment and we will be in touch as soon as one is available.

Unfortunately, due to service pressures, we are unable to hold people on the waiting list for specific appointments, such as after school or face-to-face appointments. Please note we do not have any late evening or weekend appointments.

Please be aware that our service policy is to offer everyone two alternative appointment times, and then to discharge from the service if the person is not able to accept any of the appointments offered.

Some young people are able to access a quiet room in school to be able to attend their appointment and we are happy to provide a letter in support of this if this would be helpful.

You can visit the COVID-19 update page for more information. We have also added some helpful resources for looking after your mental health on our Resources page.

If you have questions about referrals or confidentiality, read our FAQs.

What kind of support is available for children & young people?

We have several support options available. In addition, the Wellbeing Service is hosting two pilot offers for the East and Central Primary Care Networks (PCNs). Click on the images below to find out more.