Mental Health Support Teams: Aldershot and Rushmoor

The Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) are an early help service designed to improve access to psychological therapies for young people, while also assisting schools to develop a whole-school approach to positive mental health and wellbeing.

Our practitioners work with young people and parents to manage mild to moderate mental health difficulties using a range of low-intensity and high-intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapies (CBT). These mental health difficulties can include low mood, worry, phobias, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), sleep difficulties or behavioural difficulties.

MHSTs are assigned to certain schools across Surrey and Hampshire, including Aldershot and Rushmoor areas. Please speak to your child’s school to see if there is a team in place in your school. 

How is CBT delivered?

CBT is a talking therapy which looks at the links between our thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and behaviours. Within the MHST we have low-intensity therapists known as Educational Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs) and high-intensity therapists known as CBT therapists.

CBT is delivered either in a group context, on a one-to-one basis, or directly with parents by one of our practitioners depending on age and the nature of the difficulties.

Sessions can be face-to-face or virtual depending on preference and circumstance.

Who else does the MHST work with?

Practitioners also engage with schools to help them improve their knowledge and level of support for mental health. We offer school consultations, workshops, professional discussion groups, curriculum content and much more. We are always looking for ways to support our schools and develop resources that meet their needs in an ever-changing landscape.

We also work alongside other Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) colleagues from specialist services as well as school nurses, school counsellors, educational psychologists and voluntary sector organisations.