NECAMHS

Child and adolescent mental health services are available to children and young people aged o to 18 years of age, who are in need of specialist mental health services and who will benefit from a team approach.

You also have to be living in one of Benalla, Indigo, Mansfield, Wangaratta, Wodonga & Towong shires or in the city of Yarrawonga.

You can seek assistance either through your child's school, community health centre, local doctor or by direct contact with NECAMHS.

We provide community mental health services to children, adolescents and their families who live in the Cities of Wodonga and Wangaratta and the Indigo, Towong, Delatite and Alpine Shires.

NECAMHS operates from 155 High Street Wodonga and "Rivers' Edge", 66-68 Faithful Street, Wangaratta.

Referrals can be made by telephoning our receptionist on (02) 6051 7900.

You will be put you in touch with an intake worker, a qualified mental health professional.

Referrals are accepted from a variety of sources, including GP's, local hospitals, general health and welfare agencies and concerned family members.

Our centres operate during business hours and an after hours service is available.

All referrals are screened and a response will be arranged according to the identified need.

Who are we?

NECAMHS stands for North East Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service

We are a team of occupational therapists, nurses, psychiatrists, social workers,

psychologists and reception/ admin staff.

We care about the mental health of children, young people and their families. We work with you to help you and your family stay on track.

Who do we work with?

Children and young people up to 18 years of age, who are in need of specialist mental health services and who will benefit from a team approach.

You also have to be living in one of Benalla, Indigo, Mansfield, Wangaratta, Wodonga & Towong shires or in the city of Yarrawonga.

We are a free service.

What do we do?

We use a model of service delivery, called the ‘Choice and Partnership Approach it

You can check it out at: www.capa.co.uk

When should you come to NECAMHS?

When you have tried everything you know to deal with something in your life that ishaving a big impact on your relationships, school and/or how you feel about yourself and it hasn’t changed.

At these times you may be feeling:

Sad or depressed a lot of the time
Worried, nervous or really stressed
Angry or aggressive
Isolated and alone
Like hurting yourself or ending your life
That your life is out of control
Distressed after a traumatic incident even if it happened a long time ago
You’re hearing voices, seeing things or have ideas that no one else believes

How do you get into NECAMHS?

Either you or someone else, your parents/carer, a school counsellor, your doctor or someone from another service can ring and speak to our Intake worker.

The Intake Worker will work out if

NECAMHS is the best place for you and provide an appointment time or help find a better place to go for support.

If you are under 16, we will need to have your parents’/carers’ permission.

What happens when you come to NECAMHS?

Your first “choice” meeting will be with one or more of the team and last for about 90 minutes. You may decide to bring the whole family to this meeting and also any other significant person in your life, for support.

We will use this time to discuss your issues, your strengths and any attempts you have already made to make things better. By the end of the meeting we hope that we will be able to agree on what happens next. This may be continuing with us in “partnership” or seeing other services who are more able to help.

Treatment and Care

The treatment and care provided to you and/or your child will be based on the decisions made collaboratively with your case manager and recorded in the Individual Service Plan (ISP).

Treatment and care may include:

family counselling
individual therapy
group therapy
education about the psychiatric condition
medication
crisis intervention
liaison with schools and other agencies
support for family members or carers
arranging access to other needed services

Specialist Inpatient Treatment

Specialist inpatient care is rarely required, but if necessary, NECAMHS can refer young people to the adolescent psychiatric inpatient service provided at Box Hill Hospital and for Children up to 12 years of age at the Austin Hospital, in Melbourne.

Finishing Your Involvement

Treatment ceases when the goals of public mental health service involvement that have been worked out with you and/or your child are achieved.

You can re-contact NECAMHS anytime if you need mental health services in the future.

Your Rights

The Mental Health Service at AWH - Wodonga Campus has a range of obligations in relation to consumer and carer rights under the Mental Health Act 1986 and the National Standards for Mental Health Services. You have rights in relation to:

access
quality of care
information
consent
privacy
confidentiality
safety
consultation
decision making
participation in research
advocacy
participation in training

Have a Query or Concern?

If you have a query, comment, complaint, or just wish to give us some feedback about the care or service provided, we encourage you to raise this immediately either personally or in writing.

If you have a problem or issue you can contact:

your case manager
the Service Manager

Privacy and Confidentiality

What you say to us here at NECAMHS is CONFIDENTIAL. This means it won’t be passed on to someone else unless you say it’s OK, or unless you or someone else is at serious risk of being hurt. Then we may legally have to tell other people like Police or Child Protection.

Helpful websites and telephone numbers

ReachOut: www.reachout.com

Headspace:: www.headspace.org.au

BiteBack: www.biteback.org.au

Youth Beyond Blue:: www.youthbeyondblue.com

Parent Line 132 289

Kids Help Line 1800 55 1800

Contact Details

NECAMHS North East Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service

4 / 155 High Street PO Box 1644 Wodonga VIC 3689

Phone: (02) 6051 7900

Fax: (02) 6051 7922