title: 'They're not witches. …' Young children and their parents' perceptions and experiences of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recent initiatives have emphasized the ongoing need to include children in healthcare research, which is relevant to the development of both paediatric and mental healthcare services. Our aim was to contribute children and their parents' perceptions and experiences of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), with the objective of providing guidance for those wishing to improve inclusivity and empowerment.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a thematic analysis of interview data taken from 11 children (9 boys, 2 girls, aged 8-12) and their parents (12 mothers, 2 fathers), who had recently been referred to CAMHS for mental health and educational problems.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Three core themes emerged from the data. Fear of the unknown refers to emotional apprehension due to uncertainty of what happens in CAMHS. However children also provided useful reassurances for future service users. Therapeutic engagement refers to the importance of being listened to and building up good relationships with professionals. Finally making services acceptable was discussed in terms of issues of accessibility, session tolerances and suggestions for the development of child-centred services.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Children were able to provide potentially useful opinions of CAMHS. In a time of limited resources it is imperative that the voices of children and their parents are acknowledged in order to improve accessibility and experiences within CAMHS.
authors.affiliation: The Greenwood Institute, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bone
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: O'Reilly
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Karim
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vostanis
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D016497:Adolescent Health Services; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D002662:Child Health Services; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D008605:Mental Health Services; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education*; D010349:Patient Compliance; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D058996:Quality Improvement
keywords: CAMHS; accessibility; child-centred services; children's views; therapeutic engagement