What Does the Social Worker Bring? Considerations of complex mental health work with Children and Young People

This event is being held for Mental Health Week 2024.  

The session is an opportunity to celebrate and reflect on the work of CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) social work. It will explore the value and identity of social work in those services and will also explore the specific complexities in assessing children and young people under the Mental Health Act.

We will hear presentations from speakers Annabel Smith and Sarah Redmond, followed by a panel discussion with other mental health social workers as well as experts by experience. There will be opportunities to pose questions to the panel. 

Annabel will explore the background to social work roles in CAMHS, with a focus on social work values, ethics, knowledge, skills, practice and the distinct qualities and value that social work brings to the multidisciplinary landscape of CAMHS.

Sarah will explore a review of the AMHP (Approved Mental Health Professional) role in the assessment of Children and Young People (CYP) under the Mental Health Act and will include the sharing of results from an AMHP survey around their experiences of assessing CYP and also what the statistics tell us about children’s mental health more generally and what we can to do advocate for CYP through the formal assessment process.

Annabel is the Professional Lead for Social Care in a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service. She has worked in CAMHS since 2005 and has recently established a network for CAMHS social workers. Annabel is passionate about the role of social work within a clinical setting and motivated by helping other social workers find their space within this sector and to celebrate the many positive things that social work brings to this field.  Annabel is currently undertaking doctoral research into the experiences of social workers within CAMHS.

Sarah has been a practising social worker for 20 years and an Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) for 11 years. Her background is in children’s services but she is currently in her 13th year of working on an Emergency Duty Service in a generic social work role. Sarah is also involved in research through the Clinical Research Network and her area of interest is the assessment of Children and Young People under the Mental Health Act. She is a passionate advocate for social work practice and is course lead on social work retention through the West Midlands Teaching Partnership, supporting social workers in staying in this rewarding but challenging profession. Sarah also teaches at local Universities including Staffordshire University and University of Birmingham with a focus on the AMHP role.

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