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CAMHS Jargon Buster

Say What?! 

 

Just like any other specialism, mental health has a lot of jargon attached to it. This jargon can be overwhelming and leave you feeling unsure and confused. Below is a list of some common terms used by mental health professionals, along with an explanation of what they mean. Some of these words/terms you may find whilst reading content on our website, other words you might come across during your journey through CAMHS, or might be of interest.

A

Achievement: Something that has been accomplished through effort.


Acknowledge: Recognise and accept the importance of something.


Addiction: Addiction is defined as the inability to control a psychological or physiological dependence on a substance or activity that further leads to self harm.


ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.


Adjusting: To change something so that it fits.


Advocacy: When an independent professional (advocate) supports an individual, to get their views heard on issues with services that affect their life.


Advocate: This is someone who can support you, to voice your opinions about the treatment and support you wish to receive. They may attend meetings with you to ensure that your voice is heard. Family and friends can act as advocates but you may feel more comfortable talking to an independent (i.e. someone who doesn’t know you personally) person.


Affirmative Therapist: Is a form of psychotherapy for non-heterosexuals, specifically gay and lesbian clients, which focuses on client comfort in working towards authenticity and self-acceptance regarding sexual orientation, and does not attempt to "change" them to heterosexual.


Agoraphobia: A fear of going where there are other people.


Alexithymia: an inability to identify and describe one’s emotions; considered to be a personality trait.


AMHP: Approved Mental Health Professional.


AMHS: Adult Mental Health Services.


Anatomy: A persons body.


Anger: Natural response to being treated unfairly.


Anorexia: An emotional disorder characterised by an obsessive desire to lose weight by refusing to eat.


Anti-depressants: This is a type of medication aimed at improving your mood. Only a doctor can prescribe this medication.


Assessment: This is something a mental health professional will complete, in order to better understand your difficulties. It involves talking to you and your family (if you agree), to get a better understanding of how they can support you.


Anxiety: Feeling of worry, nervousness or unease about a situation.


ARFID: Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder.


ASC: Autistic Spectrum Conditions.


Assessment: Review of your health needs.


Attachment Difficulties: Having difficult forming lasting relationships.


Autism: Difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with other people.


Awkwardness: Causing problems, worry or embarrassment.

B

BED: Binge Eating Disorder.


Behavioural: The way someone behaves.


Bereavement: Time spent adjusting to a loss.


Biological Sex: Is our anatomy as female, male, or intersex. It includes our internal and external sex organs, chromosomes, and hormones. Some people are intersex rather than female or male.


Bipolar Disorder: Periods of elation and depression.


Body Dysmorphic Disorder: Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is an anxiety disorder related to body image. It's closely related to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).


Body Image: What you think about your own body and how you feel about the way you look.


Bulimia: An emotional disorder characterised by a distorted body image and an obsessive desire to lose weight, in which bouts of extreme overeating are followed by fasting or self-induced vomiting or purging.


Bullying: Unwanted aggressive behaviour among school aged children.

C

CAMHS: Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.


Capacity: Is the ability to understand, retain and make an informed decision about your care.


Care Co-ordinator: A qualified professional, who is responsible for overseeing your care at CAMHS, and working to ensure they source the help and support you need.


Care Plan: A plan that is created between you and the professional who is supporting you. It contains information about the type of support you will receive and the professionals who will be involved. A care plan should be reviewed with you regularly.


Carer: A friend, relative or someone known to an individual that voluntarily looks after them when they are ill, disabled, vulnerable or frail. Carers can provide care part time or full time.


Carers Assessment: A discussion with the carer to discuss the difficulties they are experiencing and to think of a plan of action that may help them.


C-GAS: Childrens Global Assessment Scale.


Challenging Behaviour: A person's behaviour can be defined as "challenging" if it puts them or those around them (such as their carer) at risk, or leads to a poorer quality of life.


Chemical Substances: Chemical substances exist as solids, liquids, gases or plasma, and may change with changes in temperature or pressure.


CHI-ESQ: A national questionnaire given to someone who is using CAMHS services to measure their satisfaction with the service.


CIN: Child in Need.


Clinic: A building where your CAMHS appointments will take place.


Clinical Audit: A process that seeks to improve our levels of care by reviewing them against a set criteria. Changes/improvements needed are put in place and monitored to ensure progress is sustained.


Clinical Pathway: A flow chart or document detailing the elements of treatment/therapies for a specific disorder.


Cluttered: Filled with things or people in an untidy way.


Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: A form of therapy, that focuses on how your thoughts and feelings impact on your behaviour. It uses cognitive (how you think) and behavioural (how you act) strategies to help you manage your difficulties.


Communication: Talking or sending or receiving information.


Community Care: This refers to care that takes place outside of a hospital.


Co-morbidity: A term used if an individual is experiencing one or more than one additional difficulties alongside their main problem. For example, an individual may have depression and anxiety.


Compassion: Concern for the feelings of others.


Complexity: Something that is complicated or hard to understand.


Conduct Disorder: A range of antisocial types of behaviour displayed in childhood or adolescence.


Confidentiality: Involves you talking to someone with the understanding that they won’t tell anyone else. Every effort is made to maintain confidentiality but, if you or someone else is at risk, they may need to tell someone else.


Consistent: Done in the same way.


Consultant Psychiatrist: A medical doctor who has extensive experience in mental illness. They have overall responsibility for your care.


Continence: The ability to voluntarily control urinary and faecal discharge.


CORS: Child Outcome Rating Scale.


Counselling: Give advice to someone.


CPA: Care Programme Approach.


CPN: Community Psychiatric Nurse.


CPP: Child Protection Plan.


CQC: Care Quality Commission.


CSE: Child Sexual Exploitation.


Cyber Bullying: Use of electronic communication such as Facebook, SnapChat to bully a person.


CYPiC: Children and Young People in Care (or CiC - Children in Care). Children and young people who are cared for by the Local Authority. They may live with foster carers, other family members or in residential care.

D

DBT: Dialectical Behavioural Therapy.


Delusions: This is when someone believes something that isn’t true to most people. For example, you may believe that you have super powers or that someone is watching you.


Depression: Feeling very unhappy and without hope for the future.


Dermatillomania: A condition where a person feels compelled to pick at their skin, to the point where it causes visible wounds.


Developmental Disorder: An umbrella term covering disorders such as intellectual disability / mental retardation as well as pervasive developmental disorders including autism.


Diagnosis: Explanation of an illness.


Dialectical: Talking.


Discharge: When you officially leave Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.


Disciplines: A group a professional may belong to. Grouping are usually related to the way a professional is trained, for example Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Family Therapists.


Disrespected: Act in an insulting way to someone.


Distracted: Unable to concentrate.


DNA: Did Not Attend (or was not brought) is when you miss a scheduled appointment and there has been no contact before to explain the reason for non-attendance.


DoLS: Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.


Domestic Violence: Abuse of one partner within an intimate or family relationship.


DSL: Designated Safeguarding Lead.


DSM: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.


Duty Worker: A CAMHS professional, who can provide mental health advice, and support to young people in a duty role.


Dyscalculia: Severe difficulty in making math calculations, as a result of brain disorder.


Dyslexia: Is a common learning difficulty that can cause problems with reading, writing and spelling.


Dyspraxia: Is a common disorder affecting fine and, or gross motor coordination in children and adults.

E

Early Intervention Service: This service works with individuals aged between 14-35 year olds who are experiencing Psychosis.


Eating Disorders: Abnormal or disturbed eating behaviour.


ED: Eating Disorder.


EDE-Q: Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire.


EHCP: Education, Health and Care Plan.


Emerging Personality Disorder: Personality disorders usually become noticeable in adolescence or early adulthood, but sometimes start in childhood. They can make it difficult for you to start and keep friendships or other relationships, and you may find it hard to work effectively with others. You may find other people very scary, and feel very alienated and alone


Emotional Wellbeing: This is having the ability to understand the value of your emotions and use them to move forwards in positive directions. It is about doing everything we can to effectively manage our thoughts, feelings and actions in a way that helps us function in our day to day lives.


Empathy: Understand the feelings of others.


Empower: Giving someone the authority or freedom to do something.


Encopresis: A disorder that involves the repeated passage of faeces in inappropriate places by a child/young person.


Endorphins: Block pain but also responsible for feelings of pleasure.


Enuresis: Night time incontinence (bed wetting)


Erytophobia: A fear of the colour red.


Evidence Based Treatment: This means when a certain treatment or approach (such as therapy) has been tested or studied and found to work well for certain conditions/difficulties.


Exaggerated: Say something is larger, better or worse than it is.

F

Family Therapy: Is a form of therapy that involves an individual and their family working together to manage their difficulties. A family therapist will look at how a family interacts as a whole unit and develop strategies to overcome any problems that may arise from difficult relationships.


Fatigue: A state of tiredness, exhaustion or loss of energy.


Flashbacks: A sudden, clear memory of a past event or time, usually one that was bad.


Formal Patient: Sometimes individuals may not agree to stay in hospital but professionals are concerned about their ability to keep themselves safe. In this instance, individuals may be admitted to hospital under the Mental Health Act. If they are not in hospital voluntarily, they become a formal patient.


Formulation: This is when information you provide as well as information from the people you are working with are used to map out the difficulties and to shape a plan of advice, support or guidance.

G

GBO: Goal Based Outcomes.


Gender: Gender includes the social, psychological, cultural and behavioral aspects of being a man, woman, or other gender identity.


Gender Dysphoria: Distress a person experiences due to a mismatch between their gender identity—their personal sense of their own gender—and their sex assigned at birth.


Generalised Anxiety Disorder: Excessive anxiety about several aspects of your life.


GP: General Practitioner.


Grief: A natural response to loss.


Group Therapy: Is a structured meeting that involves an individual talking to a number of other people who may have similar difficulties. It may be run by a mental health professional or a volunteer.

H

Habit: Something you do often, something without knowing.


Hallucinations: When someone sees, hears, smells, tastes or feels something is not really there. An example of a hallucination is hearing voices.


HEE: Health Education England.


Hormones: A natural substance that is produced in the body that influences the way the body grows or develops.


Hylophobia: A fear of trees.


Hyperactivity: More energy than normal.

I

ICB: Integrated Care Board.


ICP: Integrated Care Partnership.


Illegal Substance: A drug which is not allowed legally.


Impact: To have an effect or influence on a situation or person.


Impairment: The condition of being unable to perform as a consequence of physical or mental unfitness; "reading disability"; "hearing impairment".


Impulsive: Do something without thinking.


Inattentive: Not paying attention to something.


Informal Patient: Sometimes individuals may need to go into hospital for more intense support. An informal patient means that you are in hospital voluntarily.


Inpatient Care: Refers to care that takes place in a hospital.


Intervention: Describes any form of treatment or support that you may receive.


Invasive: Tending to intrude on a person's thoughts or privacy.


Irritable: Having or showing a tendency to be easily annoyed.


iThrive: iThrive is a model used by CAMHS to describe the categories different services come under.

J

JHWS: Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategies.

K

Key Worker: This is someone who is identified as your main contact within a service.

L

LA: Local Authority.


LADO: Local Authority Designated Officer.


Learning Difficulties: Difficulties with the ability to learn.


Learning Disabilities: Learning disability, learning disorder, or learning difficulty is a condition in the brain that causes difficulties comprehending or processing information and can be caused by several different factors.


Legal Highs: A substance with stimulant or mood-altering properties whose sale or use is not banned by current legislation regarding the misuse of drugs.


LGBTQ: Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender, Questioning.


LSCB: Local Safeguarding Children Board.


LTP: Local Transformational Plan.

M

Manic: Showing wild, apparently derange, excitement and energy


MARF: Multi Agency Referral Form


MASH: Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub


MDT: Multidisciplinary Team - A team made up of different professionals


MEED: Medical Emergencies in Eating Disorders and relates to the guidance on how to respond to such emergencies


Mental Health: Mental health is a state of well being in which the individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively, and is able to make a contribution to his/her community (WHO, 2001).


Mentalisation: Understand the mental state of yourself and others


Mentalisation Based Therapy: Treatment for people with borderline personality disorder


MHA: Mental Health Act


MHCA: Mental Health Capacity Act


Mindfulness: A ‘mind-body’ practice that helps people manage their thoughts and feelings. It focuses on paying attention to the present moment. Mindfulness forms the basis of some mental health treatments.


Motor Tics: Tics can be invisible to the observer, such as abdominal tensing or toe crunching. Common motor and phonic tics are, respectively, eye blinking and throat clearing


Multi-disciplinary Team: A team that is made up of a number of professionals from different disciplines. For example, a community team may consist of Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Mental Health Nurses, Psychotherapists, Mental Health practitioners and Assistant Psychologists.

N

NICE: National Institute for Clinical Excellence. An organisation responsible for providing guidance on best practice and the prevention and treatment of ill health


Non-Binary: Any gender identity


Nurturing: Care and protect someone while they are growing

O

Obsessions: An idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes on your mind


OCD: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder


ORS: Outcome Rating Scale


OT: Occupational Therapist


Overwhelmed: Feeling of having too much to deal with

P

Panic Disorder: Regular panic attacks


Participate: Join in


Participation: Is when we involve young people who use our services in making decisions about how we develop and improve our services. See our Co-production pages


Peers: Someone the same age as you


Perceived: To come to an opinion of something


Perinatal: Refers to the period during pregnancy and up to a year after birth


Phobia: Fear of something


PHQ: Patient Health Questionnaire


Predictable: Always behaving in the same way


Prescription: Written document from a doctor/nurse for a patient to have medicine


Professional: Someone who is specially trained


PRU: Pupil Referral Unit


Psychodynamic: Mental or emotional processes developing especially in early childhood and their effects on behaviour and mental states


Psychological: Mental and emotional state of a person


Psychologist: This is a professional who can support you to understand your thoughts and feelings. They will help you to understand your difficulties and develop ways to better manage them.


Psychosis: A severe mental disorder in which thought and emotions are so impaired that contact is lost with external reality


PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder


Puberty: The period during which adolescents reach sexual maturity and become capable of reproduction

R

RCADS: Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale - A questionnaire with 47 questions. It measures the frequency of symptoms of anxiety and depression, in children and young people


Realistic: Accurate and true to life


Reassurance: A statement that remove someone's doubts or fears


Recovering: Become well again after illness or injury


Recovery: Helps you to realise your hopes and aspirations, develop your relationships and skills so you can live a positive life, with or without on-going episodes of mental ill health


Referral: This is when someone you know asks a service (for example CAMHS) to offer support to help you


Relapse: This is when you start to become unwell again after your health had previously improved


Relaxation: The act of relaxing or the state of being relaxed


Re-Referral: A re-referral is a a referral to a service where the child/young person has been previously referred to (for example, the young person has accessed CAMHS before, and requires a further referral later on)


Restless: Unable to rest or relax


Risk Assessment: In order to keep you safe, those involved in your care will complete an assessment of any risks. These risks may include risks to yourself or others.


Risk Factors: Risk Factors are things that can increase the chances of mental health difficulties developing or worsening. These can be as a result of harmful experiences or current challenging circumstances


ROMs: Routine Outcome Measures


Ruminations: Is the compulsively focused attention on the symptoms of one's distress, and on its possible causes and consequences, as opposed to its solutions

S

Safeguarding: Safeguarding refers to protecting your rights to live safely to live safely and to be free from abuse or neglect. Local Authorities have a legal duty to protect people who are experiencing or at risk of experiencing abuse or neglect


Safety Plan: A plan to help keep a young person as safe as possible, taking into account any risks identified


SALT: Speech and Language Therapy


Schizophrenia: A long-term mental disorder of a type involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behaviour, leading to faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation


SCORE-15: Systemic Clinical Outcome and Routine Evaluation


SDQ: Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire. A questionnaire to help us find our how things are going from your point of view, and the point of view of your parents/carers and school


Selective Mutism: Selective mutism is an anxiety disorder where a person is unable to speak in certain social situations.


Self Care: Refers to how you look after yourself physically, mentally and emotionally. Some people may develop a self care plan that they can refer to if they are going through a difficult time.


Self Esteem: Self Esteem is characterized as the perception an individual has of themselves and how their self belief affect their social and emotional well being


Self-Harm: Is where someone harms their body without wanting to die


Self-Injurious: Non-suicidal self-harm


SEN: Special Educational Needs


SENCO: Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator


Sensations: Ability to feel something physically, especially by touching


Sensory: Something you feel with your physical senses


Session by Session Rating: Opportunities to share your views and give us feedback on the service you are receiving within sessions


Sexual orientation: A person's sexual identity in relation to the gender to which they are attracted; the fact of being heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual


Signposting: This is when we recommend other support or organisations that may help you. This can be instead of us or as well as us


SLDOM: Sheffield Learning Disabilities Outcome Measure


SMART: Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant, Timely (relates to goals and goal setting)


Social Agoraphobia: A fear of being with other people


Social Anxiety Disorder: An excessive fear of social situation


Social Care: Services provided by local councils to protect and support the needs and welfare of children


Social Worker: A Social Worker i.s a health professional that provides support to people and their families going through a crisis point. The social worker is able to provide practical support, counselling, information and emotional support.


SPA: Single Point of Access - A front of house service offering a single point for referral and a first line of advice, signposting or support


Specialist: Expert in a profession


Stereotyped: Idea of a particular type of person


Stigma: Discrimination and negative attitudes people may have towards those with mental health difficulties.


Stimulant Medication: Produces temporary improvements in hyperactivity


Strategies: Plan of action to achieve a long term goal


Stress: A feeling of being under too much pressure


Struggle: Finding it hard to deal with something that is hard


Stuttering: Speaking with unusual pauses or repetitive sounds


Substance Misuse: Harmful use of substances (like drugs and alcohol) for non-medical purposes


Suicidal: Deeply unhappy or depressed and likely to commit suicide


Suicidal Ideation: refers to thoughts of suicide. It’s typically referred to as suicidal ideation (as in suicidal thinking) rather than suicidal ideations (as in suicidal thoughts).


Symptoms: Indication of a disorder such a pain, sickness or weakness

T

TAF: Team Around the Family


Talking Therapy: Talking to a therapist or counsellor in either individual or group session


Therapy: Treatment intended to relieve or heal a disorder


Tics: A habitual spasmodic contraction of the muscles, most often in the face


Tormented: Annoy or be unkind


Tourette's: Is an inherited neuropsychiatric disorder with onset in childhood, characterised by multiple physical (motor) tics and at least one vocal (phonic) tic


Trans-flux: A flowing through, across, or beyond


Transition Plan: A transition plan is a plan made with a young person and CAMHS when a young person is turning 18 and will leave CAMHS and go on to AMHS (Adult Mental Health Services)


Trauma: A deeply distressing or disturbing experience


Triage: A triage priorities the service type, need and urgency based on assessment risk, need and dysfunction. A service request is created and a referral to an appropriate service may be made.


Trichotillomania: A condition where someone can’t resist the urge to pull out their hair, either on their head from the scalp,  eyebrows or eyelashes or from other parts of their body


Triggers: Many different things can make someone become unwell. These are often called Triggers, because a situation, thought, or feeling may trigger someone to become unwell


Twitches: Give or cause to give a short, sudden jerking or convulsive movement

U

Unrealistic: Not real

V

Verbally Aggressive: An assault on someone by shouting


Vocal tics: An involuntary, abrupt, and inappropriate grunt, bark, or other exclamation or utterance, occurring especially in Tourette's syndrome

W

Welfare: Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs

Y

YOT: Youth Offending Team


Young Carers: Young people who live with a family member, who needs help from them because they have an illness or disability. If the young person becomes overwhelmed by this they can seek advice

 

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