Contact Details
Aldershot Centre for Health,
Hospital Hill,
Aldershot,
GU11 1AY,
United Kingdom
Opening Times
Monday - Friday: 9am-5pm
- The Mental Health Support Teams are based in Aldershot Centre for Health but provide services directly within schools.
Contact Names
Service manager: Dr Rebecca Scarth
Out of Hours Contact
We provide a free 24/7 mental health crisis line for children aged from six years, young people and their families or carers who are in crisis. Please call 0800 915 4644 to talk with a professional who will provide advice, support, and signposting to a range of community services. It’s open all day and all night, seven days a week.
Service Description
The Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) are an early help service designed to improve access to psychological therapies for young people, while also assisting schools to develop a whole-school approach to positive mental health and wellbeing.
Our practitioners work with young people and parents to manage mild to moderate mental health difficulties using a range of low-intensity and high-intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapies (CBT). These mental health difficulties can include low mood, worry, phobias, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), sleep difficulties or behavioural difficulties.
MHSTs are assigned to certain schools across Surrey and Hampshire, including Aldershot and Rushmoor areas. Please speak to your child’s school to see if there is a team in place in your school.
How is CBT delivered?
CBT is a talking therapy which looks at the links between our thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and behaviours. Within the MHST we have low-intensity therapists known as Educational Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs) and high-intensity therapists known as CBT therapists.
CBT is delivered either in a group context, on a one-to-one basis, or directly with parents by one of our practitioners depending on age and the nature of the difficulties.
Sessions can be face-to-face or virtual depending on preference and circumstance.
Who else does the MHST work with?
Practitioners also engage with schools to help them improve their knowledge and level of support for mental health. We offer school consultations, workshops, professional discussion groups, curriculum content and much more. We are always looking for ways to support our schools and develop resources that meet their needs in an ever-changing landscape.
We also work alongside other Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) colleagues from specialist services as well as school nurses, school counsellors, educational psychologists and voluntary sector organisations.
Referral Process
If you feel that you or your child would benefit from the support of the MHSTs, then please speak to someone at your child’s school who can submit a referral to us.
Referral Criteria
5-18 year olds with mild to moderate mental health difficulties.