YOUnited
YOUnited supports children and young people with their emotional wellbeing and mental health.
YOUnited offers support to children and young people aged 5 to 17 with their emotional wellbeing and mental health. There are four partners involved: Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT), Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust (CCS), Ormiston Families and Centre 33.
Young people, up to the age of 18 years, can be referred to YOUnited, where the difficulties relate to eating concerns or seeking a neurodevelopmental assessment, please see our 'how to refer page' for further information.
For emotional wellbeing and mental health support for 17-25 year olds, please see our 'how to refer' for further information.
What do we aim to achieve?
- We provide support in navigating the system.
- We include children and young people in the decision-making of the support offered.
- We give more options for children and young people who previously have been falling through service gaps.
Contact us
Clinicians and administration staff are available 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays). The contact number and email below is for professionals only for discussion and consultation of non-crisis referrals.
T: 0300 3000 830 | E: younited@cpft.nhs.uk
How to Refer Help in a Crisis Neurodevelopmental Resources for Families
For important information for professionals, please click here
Digital resources
YOUnited has worked with families, young people and children - in partnership with Taproot - to research and promote digital information, self-help and e-therapy resources as part of the services it provides.
Though the following links below we have curated some of the best available resources and support recommended by age and level of need. Simply click on the tab that applies to you and then the subject you're interested in - and you'll find a wide range of useful apps and websites.
What happens once a referral has been received by YOUnited?
When you’ve been referred to YOUnited for mental health and emotional wellbeing support, you will be offered an initial appointment so we can find out a bit more about you and identify the support that best fits your needs. The appointment will either be in person, via video call or telephone.
You will have the appointment with one of the YOUnited partners; NHS Child and Adolescence Mental Health Service (CAMHS), Ormiston Families, Centre 33, or Cambridgeshire Community Services. If you attend a school that has a Mental Health Support Team (MHST), we may refer you to them to have an initial appointment instead.
We will ask some questions about:
- What you are finding difficult right now
- Your mental health and emotional wellbeing
- Your daily life (e.g. sleep, eating, exercising, socialising, school attendance)
- Your strengths and what is going well
- Relationships/family/friends
- Difficult experiences you have had in the past
- If you have any thoughts of self-harm and/or thoughts of ending your life
- If you or someone you know is or might be at risk of harm from someone else
If we decide together that ongoing support would be helpful for you and your mental health, please be aware that there will be a further wait for this. This could be Guided Self-Help, counselling or other forms of talking therapy. We might also decide together at your appointment that no further mental health support is needed; sometimes having a space to talk through everything is enough. Whilst waiting for your appointment, we encourage you to explore a variety of online resources, apps and other material about mental health and emotional wellbeing. You can find out more in our digital resources section.
Good to know:
- Our opening hours are Monday-Friday 9am-5pm and appointments will only be offered within this time.
- Appointments for a young person under 10 will generally be with the parent.
- Those 11-12 years we ask you to attend with your parent/carer.
- If you are aged 13+, we will encourage you to be by yourself in the appointment, but you can have a trusted adult with you for some or all of it if you need.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
My first language isn’t English, can I get an interpreter?
Yes, absolutely, this requires a little bit more setting up, but we will ensure you can access our assessment fully.
I am fully/partially deaf, can I have a British Sign Language interpreter?
Yes, this will take a bit more planning, and sometimes we ask school etc. to help with this to ensure we can arrange it as best as we can.
What if I can’t make my appointment?
Please let us know as soon as possible. We know that emergencies happen, but we ask, where possible, you let us know with 24 hours’ notice if you cannot make this appointment. If you do not attend and we are not made aware, then we may assume support is not required and close the referral to YOUnited.
We don’t need the YOUnited assessment anymore, what should I do?
Please contact us to let us know, so that we can close the referral.
I didn’t consent to this referral being made, what should I do?
Please contact the professional who completed the referral and inform us so that we can close the referral if this is your wish.
I am a parent, and want my child to get support, but my child is refusing?
There are times, for younger children where we can offer parent led support. However, for those children (generally) aged 11+ we do require the young person to be wiling and feel able to engage with us. It is really important that we take their wishes and views seriously, and this may mean closing the referral. We understand how difficult this must be as a parent, and will do our best to make recommendations.
As a patient, relative or carer using our services, sometimes you may need to turn to someone for help, advice, and support.