Young adult mental health support

CAMHS ends at 18. Adult mental health services are designed for a different kind of presentation, a different life stage, and often a different threshold. Many people at 18, 19, 20 do not fit either. That gap is not accidental or temporary. It is a structural feature of how mental health services have been commissioned.

Blip runs to 25 deliberately. Whether you are at university, starting work, back home, or still working out what comes next, the service is built for this part of life.

At 16, the law presumes you can make your own healthcare decisions. That means you self-refer, you decide what you share with your family, and you own your care plan. Your clinician will explain the confidentiality position clearly at the start, not in the small print.

What Blip can help with at 18 to 25

• Anxiety: generalised, social, panic, health anxiety
• Depression and persistent low mood
• Emotional dysregulation
• Transition-related difficulties: university, early employment, leaving home
• Low to moderate self-harm
• Difficulties that began in childhood and were never fully addressed
• Step-down from NHS Tier 3 or Tier 4 services

What happens when you get in touch

1. 1Self-refer. Fill in the enquiry form. No GP letter needed, no parent permission required.
2. 2Triage. A clinician calls within five working days to understand what you need.
3. 3Assessment. A full clinical assessment with your named clinician. Within three weeks.
4. 4Care plan. Agreed with you. Goals you have set. MDT review within one week of assessment.
5. 5Sessions. Typically 6 to 20 weeks, depending on what you are working on.

How progress is measured

Progress is measured using the CORE-10, a validated clinical outcome tool for common mental health difficulties in adults and young adults. Scores are taken at assessment, at weeks 6 and 12, and at discharge. Goal-based outcomes (GBO) are agreed at the care planning stage: you set the goals, the team helps you work towards them.

The team behind every case includes a consultant psychiatrist, senior CAMHS practitioners, occupational therapist, and family therapist. Cases are reviewed weekly. You will see the same clinician each time, not whoever is free.