Our Looked After Children's Mental Health Service (LACMHS) provides mental health services for looked after young people with moderate to severe mental health problems.

Our service is multidisciplinary (psychology, systemic, child psychotherapy, social work and nursing) and offers therapeutic support to children and young people, but also more widely to the networks supporting them, including foster carers, residential workers, social workers and other agencies via therapies and consultation.

The aim of our work is primarily to improve the mental health outcomes of young people in care, placement stability and to increase awareness and understanding of the experiences and psychological impact for young people that are looked after.

Young people in care will have experienced adverse life experiences and many present with complex attachment and trauma. While the work we do is challenging, it is also very rewarding to work to improve the life chances of these vulnerable young people. Supporting foster carers to develop a therapeutic parenting style helps prevent placement breakdown and is an important part of our offer.