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Under-nourishment and clinical risk: two concerns of CAMHS clinicians
- Author:
- BRIGGS Andrew
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Work Practice, 26(4), December 2012, pp.427-441.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Noting that Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) teams are complex working environments, this article discusses risk assessment of mental health and safety issues for children and young people by CAMHS teams. The article suggests that there has been erosion of containment within CAMHS multidisciplinary teams and that containment is essential if these teams are to function in a thoughtful way about clinical work and case management. The author argues that the consequences of workers feeling insufficiently emotionally contained can lead to primitive anxieties taking hold and affecting judgements, and that without nourishment, and its consequent provision of a containing boundary for anxieties, teams can dangerously dysfunction. The article uses a case example of a patient with eating disorder and a multidisciplinary team without a social worker to explore these ideas. It also mentions the role of social workers, noting that in order to realise their full potential when working in CAMHS social workers need specialist training to understand the emotional consequences for staff working with mental ill health.