Information for parents and carers

Parent and carer involvement including the team.

Parent and carer involvement

We believe that the parents are crucial to the good mental health of their children and whilst services can offer support for a period, it is the family home that is the consistent factor in shaping a child's wellbeing. To support this, we work with schools to provide parent support sessions, training and information.

When working one-to-one with a child or young person we also strive to involve parents/carers to varying degrees, depending on the age of the child. This is because you are in the best position to support the implementation and reinforcement of the strategies we teach in sessions when at home with your child.

You are also best placed to encourage and support the completion of any home practice tasks set from these sessions.  If it is assessed as more appropriate, for which it is more commonly with adolescents, we may work directly with your child, involving you with their permission.

With younger children, we may work solely with you in order to achieve the best and most effective outcomes for your child.

From time to time we also consult with parents/carers as we feel it's important to have the voice of service users. If you would like to be involved email thought-full@westsussex.gov.uk.

The team

There are a variety of roles in the Mental Health Support Teams (MHST) employed by Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust (SPFT) and West Sussex County Council:

  • Assistant Psychologists
  • Educational Psychologists
  • Educational Mental Health practitioners (including trainees) EMHP.
  • Mental Health Practitioners MHP
  • Childrens Low Intensity Practitioner CLIP
  • Voice and Participation Practitioner VPP
  • Senior Mental Health Practitioners
  • Advisory and Senior Advisory Teachers
  • Clinical Supervisor  
  • Service Lead
  • Coordinators
  • Business Manager
  • Team managers

Further information

  • Confidentiality is an important part of building trust between your child and their allocated practitioner from the Thought-Full team. We will seek parental/carer permission to work with children under 16, involving you in the sessions where appropriate. 

    We will always encourage your child to talk to you to let you know they are working with Thought-Full. What we discuss within the sessions remains confidential between Thought-Full and your child (and you, if you are involved in the sessions), UNLESS we feel that a child or young person is experiencing, or is at risk of experiencing harm. In which case, we have a duty of care to share this with the local safeguarding team and your child's School Safeguarding lead. 

  • We are an all year-round service, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

    We will be able to continue sessions regardless of school holiday’s, however these may be held virtually over these periods on a secure online platform. This will be agreed directly with you and your child.

  • Our interventions are designed to be short term, so we expect that we will work with your child for up to 10 sessions.

    Each session is up to an hour long (this is flexible) and we will aim for these to be held over school hours.

  • All practitioners will use a range of tools, which include questionnaires to help us plan together what interventions we will use and then evaluate if the strategy being used is working or not. 

    We will use them to:

    • support discussions within sessions
    • plan goals
    • review if strategies being used are effective
    • improve the service we offer

    Some members of Thought-Full will be completing training so at times may request feedback from your child or yourself for their university so they can complete their course and qualify.

  • Referrals into this service require the school’s senior mental health lead having a conversation with your child and explaining the role of the MHST and what it can offer.

    If your child (and you as their parent/carer, dependent on age) agrees, the Senior Mental Health Lead will then complete the ‘Request for Support Form’ and send this to Thought-Full. If there is something in particular you would like us to know, ask the senior mental health lead to add this to the referral.

    Our interventions rely on a collaborative working approach for them to be effective. It is therefore important that your child acknowledges they have a difficulty, and that they are motivated to talk about, and work on this.

    Thought-Full video for young people (YouTube)