Building Bridges in Liverpool: Delivering CAMHS to Black and Minority Ethnic Children and their Families

Abstract

The Building Bridges service was implemented as the result of an assessment of the psychological and mental health needs of black and minority ethnic children and families in Liverpool. This article describes the development of the service, and draws links between the existing literature, government legislation and implications for CAMHS.

A scoping literature review of service-level barriers for access and engagement with mental health services for children and young people

“…Some evidence suggest that self-referral is more acceptable way of accessing MH services for patients representing ethnic minority groups. A study evaluating acceptability of a self-referral MH service for Black and ethnic minority children and their families showed that this service model was more accessible for minority users comparing to usual care [83]. Similar results were found in a study evaluating self-referral MH service for Australian ethnic minority youth, however participating clinic also focused on providing culturally appropriate services, which could significantly contribute to its higher acceptability for this particular user group [84].…”

Thinking Holistic, Thinking Integrated?

“…The opening article in the series (Fatimilehin, 2007) was an excellent example of the need to consider a holistic approach to practice as essential in engaging with minority communities. It discussed the detail at every level both for successful engagement with the BME individuals and communities and for how services needed to be structured so that they were accessible and used by those individuals and communities.…”

A critical analysis of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services policy in England

“…To enable effective preventative and therapeutic services, policy frameworks should take into consideration the socio-economic and cultural contexts that shape mental health including poverty and disadvantage, and should identify strategies to tackle barriers to access to care (Fatimilehin, 2007;Ford et al, 2007;Meltzer et al, 2009). Children's wellbeing is dependent on the prevention of adverse childhood experiences (Ungar, 2015;Anda et al, 2006), and the social determinants of health (Friedli, 2009;Viner et al, 2012) which mediate family and the community's response to children in adversity.…”