Service overview
The CAMHS Berkshire Link Team supports children and young people who are facing complex challenges. This means they might be dealing with emotional, mental health, or neurodevelopmental difficulties that aren’t being met by other services.
We understand that these challenges may also be difficult for families and carers to manage alone. That's why we work together with families, carers, and professionals, using a stepped approach to find the right level of support.
This could include:
- Giving advice or helping find the right service
- Talking with one or more services to understand what’s needed
- A specialist assessment by the Link Team
- Direct help such as formulation, case-management, or specific interventions based on the child or young person’s needs
Accessing our service
We accept referrals for children and young people aged 0-18 years who are facing complex and ongoing difficulties that aren’t fully supported by current services.
These challenges may include:
- Multiple needs: when a child or young person needs support in more than one area, like both mental and physical health
- Persistent difficulties: long-term issues such as learning difficulties and neurodiversity needs
- Severe issues: problems that haven’t improved with usual types of support
- Family and social changes: big life changes, like family disruption, loss, or inequality
- Unsupported needs: emotional, mental health, or neurodevelopmental difficulties that aren’t being met by current services
We also consider referrals where:
- It’s unclear what’s going on and more support is needed
- Progress is blocked due to cross-agency disagreement
We have no restrictions on who can refer a child, young person and their family to our team. We accept self-referrals, referrals from the community, and referrals from professionals across education, healthcare, social care, police, and voluntary services. We ask that you have consent from the family/young person to make the referral.
A referral can be made by emailing us using the contact information below.
Once you provide us with initial details, we’ll send you a partially-filled form to complete. You can ask other professionals or family members to help you complete this information.
Once we get your referral form back, our team will review it and get back to you with the outcome.
Preparing for an assessment
If your referral is accepted, we’ll arrange an initial consultation. This might be just with you, or with other people who know the child or young person well and understand their situation.
To build a full picture, we’ll ask questions about their history and current circumstances, including areas such as education, social care, physical and mental health, any involvement with the justice system, and known risks.
Managing your health
NICE guideline
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline covers assessment, management and preventing recurrence for children, young people and adults who have self-harmed.
The Thames Valley Link Team
The Thames Valley Link Team supports young people with complex needs by bringing together professionals and families to provide coordinated help and improve mental health. Download the leaflets below to find out more.
TVP Link Team
File size: 11.54MB
TVP Link Programme Co-Production
File size: 2.75MB
Contact us and FAQs
Erlegh House
CAMHS Berkshire Link Team
Contact number: 0118 904 6780 Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays)
Email: linkteam@berkshire.nhs.uk
Post Address: RG6 6BZ
Location detailsFrequently asked questions
Why does the CAMHS Berkshire Link Team exist?
The CAMHS Berkshire Link Team was created to support children and young people in complex situations, particularly those who don’t quite fit into the usual Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) pathways.
Some of these young people might show behaviours that are confusing or challenging for professionals. Others might find it hard to engage with school or stick with support from services.
That’s where the Link Team comes in. We have broad referral guidelines, rather than strict referral criteria because the families we work with often have a wide range of needs.
Can you help me get medication for a child or young person?
We’re not the right service if the primary aim of the referral is for medication to be prescribed for a child or young person.
Do you assess children or young people for neurodiversity?
We have existing neurodiversity assessment services that can support you. The CAMHS Berkshire Link Team does not influence neurodiversity assessment waiting lists.
Can I make a referral to the CAMHS Berkshire Link Team even though the child or young person is being supported by another CAMHS service?
Yes, we often work alongside other CAMHS teams. We believe the best outcomes happen when everyone involved is working together.
Depending on the situation, we can support professionals by helping to understand the child or young person's needs or helping to coordinate their care.
To make a referral, please email linkteam@berkshire.nhs.uk.
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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