Low mood

Where to start

For almost everything, the NHS is the right first move, and it costs nothing.

• 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
• NHS Talking Therapies. Free NHS therapy for adults in England, for anxiety and low mood. You can refer yourself; you do not need to go through your GP first. For the parent. A great many of the parents we sit with are carrying something of their own, and waiting for someone to ask. www.nhs.uk/service-search/mental-health/find-an-NHS-talking-therapies-service
• 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 low mood

• 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
• Kooth. Free, anonymous online mental health support for young people, commissioned by the NHS in many areas. The right pointer when a teenager will not talk to a parent. Chapters where the child or young person themselves would benefit from immediate, anonymous online support, particularly teenagers who will not talk to a parent. Check local commissioning before signposting; Kooth is commissioned regionally and not yet universal. Whether it is available where you live depends on your local authority, so it is worth checking first. explore.kooth.com/families
• 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
• Mind. The UK’s largest mental health charity. The right line for the parent who has begun to notice her own depletion and wants to talk it through with someone who is not the GP, the partner, or the friend. Any chapter or quick tip where the parent’s own mental health is in the room. The Infoline staff are trained to signpost rather than counsel, which is the right register for the parent who needs the next step rather than the therapy session. Their parent-facing pages on stress, sleep, and parental burnout are the cleanest UK source we know. Not a crisis line. If tonight is urgent, use the numbers at the top of this sheet. Charged at your standard call rate, not free. Mind Infoline 0300 123 3393 · Mon-Fri 9am-6pm (except bank holidays) www.mind.org.uk

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.