Paediatric & Young People’s Services

Mental health
and wellbeing

We offer compassionate and tailored Mental Health support – because with the right support and care, any child with a mental health need can flourish.

Understanding your child’s needs

We know that dealing with mental health challenges can be a source of confusion or anxiety – often creating a sense of powerlessness for children and their families – but that is not the whole story. We believe that with the right care provision, children and their families can manage and restore their mental health, overcome challenges, and live full and satisfying lives.

Our expert team will work closely with you, other health professionals and specialist community services to develop a care plan that will provide the support and care your child needs at this time.

We offer a holistic approach, supporting our clients with activities, accessing the community, and educational support as well as mental health support as needed. Our mental health specialists can provide advice and talk through any of your concerns or special requirements.

We provide bespoke care for children who are experiencing:

Eating disorders
Anxiety disorder
Depression
Self-harm
Trauma
Autism Spectrum Disorder

We also provide care for those who have autism & learning disabilities >

Delivering effective and responsive care

First Option is a healthcare provider with our own specialist training division. Our leadership team has over 75+ years of clinical experience between them, we are a leading provider in both paediatric healthcare training and provision. See our Clinical Training division for details on available training for parents and carers.

Our specialist team of carers and nurses provide mental health and wellbeing care packages for children and young people.

We understand that mental health needs manifest in different ways and are always evolving, which is why we continually assess our clients to make sure their care reflects their changing needs. Our team of specialists conduct ongoing reviews, ensuring the best and most effective support is provided.

Working with health and social care teams, we can also ensure seamless transitional care, from paediatric to young peoples’ and on to adult services as needed.

Our care includes:

Intensive support – delivered by highly skilled teams in safe and suitable environments
Challenging behaviour specialists – to provide individual support plans that are tailored to the individual
Highly trained staff – in Team Teach, De-escalation, Soft Touch, Positive Behaviour Support Plans, Communication and Break Away techniques

Early interventions and preventative measures
Community partnerships – to ensure that people with mental health needs can return to previous settings or alternative community residence when appropriate
Contingency planning – developed in partnership with the people we support, families and professionals, to prepare for and manage risks

What you can expect:

Our own highly trained and vetted First Option Healthcare staff – we rarely use outside agency staff. An expert team with the correct training that can cover the shifts you need.
Quickest available care provision. From clinical assessment, to care plan and funding agreement in place.
Access to a clinical-led helpline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Last-minute cover. Available within 24-hours to cover shortfalls with your current provider.

Fully regulated by the Care Quality Commission
Family support and advocacy – we work with health and social care teams to ease communication and join up the dots.
Care you can rely on. We will do what we say and are transparent in our communications.