Eating disorders

Where to start

This one is medical, and early treatment matters more than in almost anything else in this library. See the GP this week and ask for a physical check and an eating disorder referral.

• Your GP. The gateway to everything the NHS offers a child: paediatric assessment, a referral to CAMHS, and support for you as the parent. Ask for a double appointment. Describe the pattern over weeks rather than the worst single day, and say plainly what you are worried about. Bring a written list; the ten minutes go quickly. www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-gp
• NHS 111, and Lifeline in Northern Ireland. The mental health crisis line for your area. Free, confidential and answered twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year. When you or your child is in mental health crisis and it will not wait for a GP appointment. England, Scotland and Wales: call 111 and choose the mental-health optionNorthern Ireland: call Lifeline on 0808 808 8000
• Your child’s school. The pastoral lead, the head of year, or the form tutor. Free, already knows your child, and often the fastest route to a change that helps. Before or alongside anything else. A school cannot act on what it has not been told, and what you bring is often what it did not have.

For eating disorders

• BEAT (Beat Eating Disorders). The UK’s eating disorder charity. The early signpost in any chapter touching on eating disorders or restrictive behaviour. Any chapter where eating, body image, or food anxiety has tipped into restrictive or compulsive territory. Signpost early in the chapter, not at the end; the youth helpline matters. BEAT Helplines England 0808 801 0677, Scotland 0808 801 0432, Wales 0808 801 0433, Northern Ireland 0808 801 0434 · Mon-Fri 3pm-8pm · Webchat, social media DM, email via website www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk
• Royal College of Psychiatrists. The main professional organisation of psychiatrists in the UK. The right institutional reference for parents seeking authoritative, clinically careful descriptions of children’s mental health conditions, written by psychiatrists in partnership with young people. Quick tips and chapters where a child has received a clinical mental health diagnosis and the family wants the calmest, most institutional UK reading available. The College’s parent-facing leaflets are certified by the Patient Information Forum’s PIF TICK accreditation scheme; their reading level and clinical framing sit slightly above YoungMinds, slightly below Anna Freud. www.rcpsych.ac.uk
• MindEd for Families. NHS-backed e-learning hub written by specialists and parents together. The right pointer for parents who want to go deeper than a charity explainer. When the chapter calls for a substantial primer rather than a short article. Particularly useful for parents who are research-minded and want structured material they can work through. www.minded.org.uk
• YoungMinds. The leading UK youth mental health charity. Their A-Z is the first place I send parents asking about a named concern. When a parent needs a clear, accessible primer on a specific emotional or mental health concern in their child or teen. Default first signpost for the 11-to-18 age range. Parents Helpline 0808 802 5544 · Mon, Thu, Fri 9.30am-4pm; Tue, Wed 9.30am-6pm · Webchat Mon-Fri 9.30am-4pm; email parents@youngminds.org.uk www.youngminds.org.uk/parent

If your child is self-harming, or has spoken about not wanting to be here

• Papyrus. Specialist suicide prevention for under-35s. HopeLine 24/7 belongs in both the sidebar and the standing crisis block whenever the chapter touches suicidal ideation. Any chapter where suicidal ideation in a young person is live or possible. The 24-hour line is one of the most important numbers in the library. Charged at your standard call rate, not free. HopeLine 24/7 0300 102 2470 · 24/7, every day www.papyrus-uk.org/help-me/hopeline-24-7
• Self-Injury Support. The UK’s leading self-harm and self-injury specialist charity. The right line for the parent who has just found a mark and needs to talk to someone who has heard this conversation before. Quick tips or chapters where self-harm is the disclosure being held, particularly in the first conversation with a child who has begun. Their text support service is specifically calibrated for women and is the right route where a young woman in the household needs an option that is not voice-based. Helpline hours are short. Outside them, the numbers at the top of this sheet are open. Self-Injury Support Helpline 0808 800 8088 · Helpline and text support Mon and Thu 7pm-10pm www.selfinjurysupport.org.uk

If you are considering private therapy

Waiting lists are long. If you can meet the cost, a registered therapist can usually be seen in weeks rather than months. Both registers below are accredited by the Professional Standards Authority, which is the thing to check before anything else.

• BACP Therapist Directory. The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy’s public register. Search by area, by what you are bringing, and by whether the therapist works with children. www.bacp.co.uk/search/Therapists
• NCPS Therapist Directory. The National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society’s register. Every therapist listed is qualified, supervised, insured, and accountable to a code of ethics. ncps.com/find-a-counsellor
• Kensington Square Therapy. Our own practice. We work with children, young people and parents, in the room at 23 Kensington Square, online, and inside schools we partner with. www.kst.ltd

What to look for in a therapist, what a first session is like, and the questions worth asking before you commit, are set out at theparentbook.com/finding-a-therapist

Everything else

The full directory, across every subject, is at theparentbook.com/services. If a number here has changed, please tell us at hello@theparentbook.com and we will correct it.