Forensic Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (FCAMHS)

FCAMHS is a community liaison model and typically offers a range of services including, clinical consultation and occasionally specialist assessment for young people who present with very complex needs across a variety of community, residential, secure and custodial settings. Child Psychotherapists at the Portman Clinic have been providing consultations and risk assessments for many years. Some of this work has now become part of FCAMHS multidisciplinary work.

In addition to our clinical role, FCAMHS provides a range of community based projects, which are aimed at inclusion and equal service oppotutntiy for all boroughs and services. Some of these projects include: co-location to sites, including YOTs and Social Care sites; group training programs with schools; reflective practice groups with third sector organsiations in service specialist training sessions; and supervision groups for placement managers.

FCAMHS also offers a 9-5pm advice line 5 days a week, which is available to any professional in our geographical patch who has concerns about young people they are working with, and who would like some confidential advice from a Forensic CAMHS clinician. To utilise this please send an email to portman.fcamhs@tavi-port.nhs.net

We provide a psychological relational formulation that relies on others’ experiences with a young person. We help them both understand the meaning of the behaviour and evaluate their role in relation to that, both within the network and in relation to the referred patient. We also:

• Providing an opinion based on  psychodynamic and systemic understanding to offending behaviours and risk
• Provision of psychological – relational  formulations based on our multidisciplinary experience in working  with people who present as harmful and highly disturbing
• Completion of structured forensic risk assessment
• Identification of protective factors (mitigating risk)
• Provision of risk management assessment, formulation, and intervention
• Involvement of the young person and their family in the care plan
• Clarification in psychiatric diagnosis and assessment
• We have a limited spaces of systemic Integrative Therapy 6 month behavioral based intervention packages (SIT) provided through the Brandon Centre 

The FCAMHS team includes forensic and child and adolescent psychiatrists, child and adolescent psychotherapists, clinical psychologists, clinical nurse specialists, a social worker, and a senior administrator. The FCAMHS team has particular expertise in:

• working at the interface between health, youth justice, welfare, and education systems
• supporting other services involved with helping high-risk young people
• understanding the difficulties and dilemmas associated with the care of high-risk young people

Referral information

We cover and are able to accept referrals from the 13 boroughs across North Central and North East London, including: Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey, Islington, City and Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Newham, Waltham Forest, Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge.

While the service is based at the Portman clinic in North London, we operate a community outreach service across the large geographical area of North Central and North East London.

To make a referral to FCAMHS please make sure the referral meets the following criteria:

• The young person is under 18 years old
• The young people is from one of our 13 boroughs (see ‘Where this service is available’ tab above)
• The young person is presenting with offending behaviours or where there is significant risk of this occurring
• There is consent to share information has been obtained
• The professional network is established and would be involved in consultation with FCAMHS 
• A local CAMHS or LA must be involved and hold and maintain clinical responsibility for the young person while FCAMHS is involved

Please call our intake team to discuss the young person or to complete a phone referral on 020 8938 2089. 

Please call us if you would like to discuss a possible referral or to seek clarification about a possible referral. 

Please direct all email correspondence to: Portman.FCAMHS@nhs.net

Once a referral is made we will review it at our referrals meeting and you will be notified of the outcome thereafter.