Who are the Southwark CWP Team?

Children and young people’s Wellbeing Practitioners (CWP) for Southwark. We are an early intervention team who see parents of children and YP who might need some support with their mental health. Being an early intervention team, we aim to see young people and support them at an early stage to provide preventative support.

What interventions do the team offer?

We offer access to Guided self-help interventions which are eight sessions based on Cognitive Behavioural therapy principles, otherwise known as CBT. We do this by offering some education about what the difficulties are, introducing new ideas and arrange powerful coping strategies and also creating a staying well plan. These sessions will be collaborative between yourselves and your CWP, working together to help reduce the concerns. We hope to leave parents and young people with a toolbox of methods to help them.

Can CBT help with anxiety?

CBT sessions can be done on a 1-2-1 basis, but we can also offer workshops to support groups of parents or young people. Workshop topics cover areas such as how to deal with exam stress, managing anxiety relating to the pandemic, managing anxiety relating to transiting from primary school to secondary school, GCSES or A levels, and also a healthy self-esteem.

How can CWP support young people?

If you are aged between 12 to 18, the focus will be to meet with you rather than your parents. We can help with worries, or fears that are getting in the way of their day-to-day life, for example worries about academic performance, health, or social relationships.

We also see young people who are feeling low and unmotivated which may have had an impact on their sleep, activities, relationships or school and it may result in constant feelings of sadness.

Do you support parents too?

Yes! We see parents of children between the age of 5 and 11 years who’s fears or worries are starting to affect their daily lives. As well as parents with children aged between 5 and 8 years old who would like help on how to respond to their children’s behaviour such as temper tantrum or difficulties following rules.

What other workshops do you offer?

 Alongside support with managing anxiety, we offer.

• • • Self-esteem // body image / social media (for secondary school aged children)
    • Transitions (For Year 6, Year 7 or Year 11/12)
    • Low mood (Secondary School age)
    • Emotional regulation (for parents) Exam stress (Any secondary school year but most helpful for those doing GCSEs or A levels)

 How can young people or parents access support?

 If you would like to access support from Southwark CWP Services, talk to your local Children’s centre, GP, a member of school or college or professional in the community. Let them know you would like to access support from the Southwark CWP services, they will then make a referral to our service. Once we have received the referral, we will be in touch. Or you can access the referral form from our website.

Remember everyone deserves to be the best version of themselves and it is okay to not feel like it sometimes. We really look forward to working with you and we hope we can work together to support you.

For more information on the Southwark CWP Service, visit https://slam.nhs.uk/southwark-cwp