What is a 'referral?'
A referral means "to send someone to a medical specialist for advice or treatment." In healthcare this is usually done by a GP. In Lincolnshire, you can 'self-refer' to children and young people’s (CYP) services. These services include CAMHS, Healthy Minds Lincolnshire and Mental Health Support Teams. This means that if you are struggling with your emotional or mental health, you can self-refer directly to our services, without going to your school or GP.
Things to know before you self-refer
Here are some things to think about before you self-refer to make sure you get the right support you need.
- If it’s an life-threatening emergency or you need urgent medical attention, please phone 999 or go to your local Accident and Emergency Department.
- If you are already open to CAMHS, Healthy Minds Lincolnshire or MHST, and you have any queries about your care then you need to contact your current worker or team office. Self-referral is for young people who are not currently being supported by our services.
- Lots of young people identify they can get the right level of support they need by visiting our self-help page. This page includes online workshops, websites and tips from young people, for young people.
- If you are a parent/carer ringing to refer your child, please note you need to have Parental Responsibility in order to make this referral. If your child/ young person is aged 13 or over you must have their consent prior to making a referral via the Here4you line.
How to self-refer:
There are two ways to refer to Lincolnshire's emotional wellbeing or mental health services.
Here4You Line
You can call our Here4You Line on 0800 234 6342 to speak directly to one of our practitioners who will talk through how you are feeling, and explore if any of our services may be able to help. Please note is open for self-referrals between the hours of 9:00am-4.30pm- excluding bank holidays
Please visit our Meet the Team page to see and learn more about who you may be speaking to.
Online Self Referral
We recognise that it can be really difficult to speak about how you are feeling over the telephone. We therefore welcome young people to self-refer by completing our online self-referral form.
Online self-referral is currently open to young people aged 13 and over. Parents/carers wishing to self-refer on behalf of their child will need to contact our Here4You line.
