CAPA and young people and families in special circumstances
With the focus on Therapeutic Alliance and working with choices, CAPA is particularly suitable for those young people and families who CAMHS sometimes find hard to engage.
Choice and control of the agenda are particularly valued by looked after young people (Stanley, 2002; Davies & Wright, 2008).
Young Minds, in their work with young people from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups, found that the young people talked about how important it was to feel that they had some choice in their own care (Street et al, 2005). They especially wanted staff who were interested and aware of religious and cultural differences and needs and ‘who did not make assumptions about their situation or needs’. They wanted specific information on what mental health is and how mental health problems may affect you, what CAMHS/mental health services do - who works in them and what treatment they offer and information about how they could help themselves. Services ‘needed to be more flexible about the frequency and length of appointments’. Having to wait for an appointment was seen as a major barrier to accessing help.
CAPA works well for young people with learning disability and their families. The focus on choices available and what will help, the avoidance of duplicating assessments and good interagency working that are central to CAPA enhance their experience. However, for staff, activity calculations may need to be adjusted to allow for the increased time needed in Core work (perhaps because of communication problems and slower pace) and home visiting.