Service overview
We treat children and young people with generalised anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, separation anxiety, panic disorder, agoraphobia, selective mutism, specific phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), and tic disorders.
We’re based at the University of Reading but have clinics across all our Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) bases in Berkshire.
Accessing our service
When our team receives a referral for your child, we’ll send you a video along with key information about our service to help you understand what to expect.
These emails are designed to help families understand the difficulties they’re facing, consider the types of support available, and understand what to expect from treatment.
We’ll send you helpful resources tailored to both you and your child or young person. You'll also be invited to join ‘SHaRON’, our moderated peer support network, which offers access to shared experiences and practical advice.
Depending on your child’s needs, our team may offer an individualised assessment, individual therapy, group therapy, alongside a consideration of medication if required. We don't offer medication as a standalone treatment.
We also work closely with other professionals involved in your child’s care. Sometimes our team isn't the best team to help with the types of difficulties your child may be experiencing and if this is the case we'll work with you to identify who is best to support you moving forwards.
Preparing for your assessment
Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is the core treatment offered for anxiety disorders and OCD, though it’s delivered in a variety of ways.
Our current treatments include:
- Individual CBT for anxiety disorders
- Individual CBT (including exposure and response prevention) for OCD and BDD
- Group anxiety management for children and young people, called ‘Taking Charge of Anxiety’
- Group CBT for adolescents with social anxiety disorder and OCD
- Online support and information group for parents, called ‘Understanding Neurodiversity and Anxiety’
- Online psychoeducation group for children, young people and their families about tics
- Habit Reversal Therapy for tics
- Comprehensive Behavioural Intervention for tics
Our treatment sessions take place once a week for one hour. The length of therapy varies depending on individual progress, with regular reviews built in to reflect on progress and plan next steps.
We work together with young people and their families in all our treatments. We use a goals-based approach, and monitor progress every session to track progress, plan next steps, and make sure the support is working well.
Managing your health
Managing feelings
Access advice and information on how to support your child or young people navigate emotions, from anxiety to depression, stress and trauma.
Your e-Health Passport
Your e-Health Passport lets us know what's important to you - from your preferred name and pronouns to how you'd like us to support you and communicate with you.
Learn moreContact us and FAQs
Frequently asked questions
How long will I have to wait to start treatment?
There may be a wait between being referred in and when treatment starts. This will be explained to you within the information we give to all new referrals into our team.
What if I can't make my appointment?
If you need to cancel your appointment, please let us know with as much notice as possible, ideally at least two working days so that we can try to offer your slot to someone else.
You can email/call our admin team, and they will pass a message to your therapist to let them know.
Due to the high demand for our services, if you repeatedly miss or cancel your appointments, or if we can’t contact you, we may close your referral and transfer your back to the care of your GP so that we can be available for someone else on the waiting list.
We will contact you by email, letter or SMS text to let you know if this is happening.
How will I know it will work?
The treatments we offer have been developed to meet NHS standards for treating generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), depression, and phobia's, and are based on approaches recommended by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE).
We find that treatment is most effective when patients regularly attend their scheduled appointments and complete the tasks set in between sessions.
It can take several sessions before you start to see progress, but you should gradually start to feel better with the help and support of your therapist.
If you have questions or concerns about your treatment, speak to your therapist in the first instance. They can explore your concerns and discuss your options with you to help make sure we’re supporting you in the best way possible.
We can also help you with
Is there any information for friends, family and carers?
If you’re a family member/carer or you look after someone, there’s practical, financial, and emotional support available to you from a range of local communities and national organisations.
How do I request an interpreter?
We can provide language translation and interpretation support whenever you visit or contact us.
Tell our staff which language you prefer to use, and we will make sure the right communication support is in place for your assessment and treatment. Please let us know as early as possible so we can ensure the appropriate translation or interpreting support is available.
We offer a range of professional services to ensure everyone can understand and be understood:
- telephone interpreting
- video remote interpreting (VRI)
- face‑to‑face interpreting
- written translation
- British Sign Language (BSL) interpreting
How can I get information in an accessible format?
Anyone with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss has the right to receive information in a format that meets their needs. Under the Accessible Information Standard (AIS)—a legal requirement for all health and adult social care providers—we must ensure that people who use our services, including carers and families, can understand the information we provide and communicate effectively with us.
We can offer information in a range of accessible formats, including:
- British Sign Language (BSL)
- large print
- braille
- audio
- easy Read
- text message
- face‑to‑face support with a carer or advocate present
If you need information in any of these formats, please tell a member of our team and we will make sure your communication needs are met.
Are service dogs allowed to my appointment?
Yes. You are welcome to bring your registered service animal, such as a guide dog, hearing dog, medical alert dog, or other trained assistance dog to your appointment.
These animals are recognised as essential support and are permitted in most areas of our services.
To help us prepare, please let the team know before your appointment if you will be attending with a service animal. This allows us to make sure the environment is safe and comfortable for you, your animal, and other patients.
Please note that service animals may not be able to enter certain restricted clinical areas for safety or infection‑control reasons, but we will always work with you to find an appropriate alternative.
Treating our team with respect.
Respect is important.
We will be polite and kind and we expect that you treat our staff in the same way.
Abuse, hate and discrimination against our staff is unacceptable.
We will take strong action against anyone who is verbally, racially, physically, or sexually abusive to them.
This includes contacting the police to prosecute, and stopping future access to our healthcare services.
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