Young Somerset Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Service Appointments Policy

Evidence shows that an intervention will be much more successful if the child or young person attends regular sessions, completes their homework, and engages fully in the process. Any treatment/therapeutic intervention is much more effective if appointments are regular and occur within a time frame of 6 - 8 weeks.

As a charity we are keen to ensure that our funds are spent effectively. Each DNA costs us approximately £128 and this is money and time that could have been spent on supporting other young people, especially as demand for our services is high.

We recognise that there will be times when appointments are missed due to unforeseen circumstances however, where possible we ask that people respond promptly to emails, voice messages and/or texts and attend appointments.

A young person or parent/carer who fails to attend without giving notice, cancels at the last minute or regularly tries to change the time and date of appointments is unlikely to be ready for a Low Intensity Cognitive Behaviour Therapy intervention.

Following receipt of your referral we will make a minimum of two attempts to contact you across two weeks. If there is no response then you will be discharged from our service.

We will attempt to contact you using the methods that you consent to - email, phone and text.
Appointments may be virtual, in-person, or via the phone. If you are unable to make an appointment, we ask you to notify the practitioner as soon as possible.

Appointments are scheduled between the hours of 9:00 – 15:30. Assessments last between 60-90 minutes, and if you proceed to support, intervention sessions typically last between 45-60 minutes for 6-8 weeks.

Young People - not attending or cancelling three appointments will result in you being discharged from our service.

Parent/Carer – not attending or cancelling two appointments will result in you being discharged from our service.

Please note: appointments are considered cancelled if you are more than 15 minutes late.