Service : Getting Help Service (Wokingham) for children and young people

Service overview

The CAMHS Getting Help Service (Wokingham) supports children and young people aged 5 to 18, and their families, who are experiencing mild or moderate mental health difficulties. This might include feeling low, worried, or anxious, and may be affecting their day-to-day life.

We start with an initial assessment to understand the child or young person’s needs. Based on this, we may offer up to eight sessions of support. These could be one-to-one sessions, guided self-help, or parent-led programmes, depending on the child’s age and needs. We may also support you to access local resources or other services if that’s more appropriate.

For those under 12, our clinicians offer parent-led and guided self-help interventions. This could include: Helping Your Child with Fears and Worries, or the Incredible Years Parenting Programme.

For those over 12, our clinicians offer individual one-to-one CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) informed interventions. This could include: Worry Management, Graded Exposure, or Behavioural Activation.

The Getting Help Service works with children and young people who don’t attend a Mental Health Support Team (MHST) school. If your child does attend one, please check with the school to find out what support is available.

Wokingham Getting Help school list

Primary

Aldryngton Primary School
The Colleton Primary School
The Crazies Hill CE Primary School
Earley St. Peters CE Aided Primary School
Embrook Junior School
Emmbrook Infant School
Farley Hill Primary
Finchampstead CE Aided Primary School
Grazeley Parochial Primary School
Hatch Ride Primary School
Hillside Primary School
Holme Grange
Ludgrove Primary School
Nine Mile Ride Primary School
Oaklands Infant and Junior School
Polehampton Church of England Infant and Junior School
Radstock Primary School
Rivermead Primary School
Robert Piggott Church of England Infant and Junior School
Shinfield Infant and Nursery School
Sonning Church of England Primary
St. Dominic Savio Roman Catholic Aided Primary School
St. Nicholas Church of England Primary
St. Sebastian's Church of England Aided Primary
St. Teresa's Catholic Primary School
Walter Infant and Nursery School
Waverley School
Wescott Infant School
Westende Junior School

Primary & secondary

Bearwood College

Secondary

Bohunt
Luckley-Oakfield
Piggott Church of England School

Special

Addington

Accessing our service

Referrals can be made by a professional like a GP or teacher, or by a parent or carer. If you're aged 16 or over, you can refer yourself.

When we receive a referral, we may start with an initial assessment to understand the child or young person’s mental health needs. After that, we'll work together to decide what support might be most helpful. This might include direct support from our team or help accessing other local services.

Make a referral

Preparing for an assessment

Before your appointment, we’ll send you and your parent or carer some questionnaires to fill in. These help us get a better idea of how things have been going for you. You can send them back in advance or bring them with you on the day.

We’ll also ask if you’re happy for the sessions to be recorded, to help us learn and improve. This is optional and it’s fine if you don't want your session to be recorded.

Your appointment usually lasts one to one and a half hours. During the appointment, we’ll work together to understand how things have been going, what’s been difficult, and what you’d like help with. We’ll also ask you questions about your safety, as our top priority is to keep you safe and well.

Some people find it helpful to write down a few notes about how they’ve been feeling beforehand, to make it easier to talk things through. We usually like to meet with you and your parent or carer together, so we can understand things from everyone’s point of view.

At the end of the appointment, we’ll talk through what we’ve learned together and decide on the best next steps. This might include offering you 6 to 8 sessions of guided self-help, 6 to 8 sessions where we work with your parent or carer to support you, or referring you to a different service that might be more helpful.

Some of the assessment questions might include:

What difficulties are you currently experiencing?
How long has the problem been around?
What is life like at school, and with family and friends?
How has your mood been recently?
Have you been feeling low or stressed?
Are you, or is anyone around you, worried about your safety?
What would you like to change or achieve by coming to us?

Managing your health

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 more

Contact us and FAQs

CAMHS Common Point of Entry

Our referral form is the most direct route for referrals. Our email address is for correspondence only, please do not contact for referrals.

Contact number: 0300 365 1234

Email: CAMHSCPE@berkshire.nhs.uk

CAMHS CPE referral form

What if I need to cancel my appointment?

If you need to cancel or rebook an appointment, please call the Common Point of Entry team on 0300 365 1234 or email CAMHSCPE@berkshire.nhs.uk at least 24 hours before your appointment.

English is not my first language, can I bring a translator?

We understand that language can be a barrier, and we want to make sure you feel fully supported during your session. Our service provider, DALS, offers professional translation services for face-to-face, video, and telephone appointments.

If you need a translator, please let your clinician know in advance, including the language you need. We’ll be happy to arrange this for you.

What if I need urgent support?

If your child requires urgent out-of-hours mental health support, please call our our urgent helpline on 0300 247 0000. This phone line is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Your child should be taken to A&E (or call for an ambulance) if they require urgent medical attention that is life-threatening such as:

Recent overdose (medication, harmful liquids etc)
Significant cuts (deep cut(s) and/or bleeding profusely)
Burns that are blistering/red
Loss of consciousness

Please remember that 999 is for life-threatening medical emergencies only. This is when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk.

Other sources of support available are ChildLine on 0800 1111, or Samaritans on 116 123.

Why is some of the support focused on parents instead of working directly with my child?

Your practitioner will talk about this during your appointment. They will explain the information that supports providing parenting help for children under 12.

If you have any worries or questions, feel free to ask your practitioner. We’re always happy to talk it through with you.

Does your service support people with a neurodivergent diagnosis?

We provide support for young people who are neurodivergent and/or need reasonable adjustments. We’ll talk about what kind of support might help after your first assessment, based on what you need.

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 from a range of local communities and national organisations.

How do I request an interpreter?

We can provide language translation and interpretation support.

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
Email
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.

What does it mean to treat 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 may include contacting the police to prosecute, and stopping future access to our healthcare services.

Staff member and guardian smiling at child

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Common Point of Entry for children and young people

Children & young people

Also known as CAMHS CPE, reviews referrals for significant mental health difficulties to provide access to the right support.

Go to service

Mental Health Support Team

Children & young people

Work with schools across Berkshire to promote positive mental health and support children and young people attending school or college, who are experiencing mild or moderate mental health difficulties.

Go to service

External support

ARC

Offers free, confidential counselling for young people under 18. Based in Wokingham, with outreach in Woodley and local GP surgeries.

Learn more

MoodJuice

An online resource designed to help think about emotional problems and work towards solving them. It has information and advice for those experiencing troublesome thoughts and feelings.