The Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) is an early intervention service that works in partnership with local schools to offer a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing.
We work with primary and secondary schools and colleges, in parts of Bletchley, Wolverton, Stantonbury and central Milton Keynes, delivering evidence-based interventions to support young people with mild to moderate mental health difficulties. Check with your school to find out whether they are working with the MHST. If in doubt, call 01908 724691 for clarification or signposting.
We support children and young people, aged 5 to 18, and their families, with mild to moderate mental health difficulties. This includes anxiety and/or depression needs
MHSTs work with children and young people, parents/carers, school staff, and external specialist services. They provide support through:
- Training and workshops for both schools and parents
- Group programmes
- 1:1 interventions where indicated by need
We offer individual and group work through effective, low-intensity, interventions for children, young people, and their families, who are experiencing:
- Anxiety
- Low mood
- Behavioural difficulties
We collaborate with schools to champion a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing, empowering them to support the wellbeing of all their students and staff.
This service is for schools who have signed up to be part of the Mental Health Support Team project. It covers the following areas of Milton Keynes: Bletchley, Wolverton, Stantonbury and central parts of Milton Keynes.
In secondary schools and colleges, our staff work with young people one-to-one or in groups, using Guided Self-Help to support and empower them to manage mild to moderate difficulties with anxiety or low mood.
In primary schools, our staff work with parents one-to-one or in groups, guiding them through tools and techniques to support their child’s mild to moderate anxiety or behavioural difficulties.
Our senior clinicians can offer specialist support for young people who require a more intensive approach on a time limited basis.
We work collaboratively with schools to support a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing, ensuring that the wellbeing of young people and staff is a priority. We offer workshops on a variety of mental health and wellbeing topics, support with peer mentoring schemes, staff training, wellbeing audits, and lots more.
Young people and parents are referred to the service via their schools Designated Mental Health Lead. To find out more, contact the Designated Mental Health Lead at your/your child’s school.
If your school would like to find out more about the Mental Health Support Teams please contact: cnwl.mhst@nhs.net.
This service is open 8am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays.
Please note we are not a crisis service. For urgent or out of hours support, please call our all-age mental health Urgent Advice Line on 0800 023 4650. Opening hours for the Urgent Advice Line is: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
Mental Health webinar for MHSTs and SMHL in schools across East of England - 11 December 2023
Videos
Please click on this link when you reach the Fight, Flight or Freeze Section in Managing Anxiety to watch a short video before returning to the main presentation.
Please click on this link to watch a short video in conjunction with the Managing Low Mood presentation.
These are a series of apps from the Apple App Store that you can use on your smart phone.
Catch it - Make sense of your mood - Compatible with Mac (requires macOS 11.0 or later and a Mac with the Apple M1 chip); iPhone or iPad (Requires iOS 9.0 or later)
- Catch It is a joint project between the Universities of Liverpool and Manchester, to help users better understand their moods through use of an ongoing diary. The app was designed to illustrate some of the key principles of psychological approaches to mental health and well-being, and specifically Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). It is not intended to be a substitute for professional mental health care, therapy or advice. If you are worried about any aspects of your mental health, you should approach a professional.
Daylio Journal: Self-Care Bullet Diary and Goals - Compatible with iPhone, iPad or iPod touch (Requires iOS 13.0 or later)
- Daylio is a very versatile app, and you can turn it in whatever you need to track. Your fitness goal pal. Your mental health coach. Your food log. Your gratitude diary. Mood tracker. Exercise, meditate, eat, and be grateful. Take care of your mental, emotional, and physical health. Good self-care is a key to improved mood and reduced anxiety.
Relax Lite: Stress and Anxiety Relief - Compatible with Mac (requires macOS 11.0 or later and a Mac with the Apple M1 chip); iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Apple TV (Requires iOS 9.0 or later)
- Effective and rapid stress relief in 5 minutes. This is an ideal stress management tool.
MindShift CBT - Anxiety Relief - Compatible with Mac (requires macOS 11.0 or later and a Mac with the Apple M1 chip); iPhone, iPad or iPod touch (Requires iOS 13.0 or later)
- MindShift CBT is a free self-help anxiety relief app, that helps you reduce worry, stress, and panic by following evidence-based strategies. Using CBT tools, you can challenge negativity, learn more about anxiety, develop more effective ways of thinking, be mindful, and relax.
Smiling Mind: Meditation for all ages - Compatible with iPhone, iPad or iPod touch (Requires iOS 11.0 or later)
- Smiling Mind is a free mindfulness meditation app developed by psychologists and educators to help bring balance to your life. Its programs are designed to assist people in dealing with the pressure, stress, and challenges of daily life. It has dedicated sleep programs for adults, children and teens. Use these when winding down at night to assist with both getting to sleep and improving overall sleep quality.
FearTools - Anxiety Aid: Compatible with Mac (requires macOS 11.0 or later and a Mac with the Apple M1 chip); iPhone or iPad (Requires iOS 8.0 or later)
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FearTools is an evidence-based app designed to help you combat anxiety, aiding you on your road to recovery. This application is especially useful for those suffering from Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Phobias, and Social Anxiety Disorder.
Breathe2Relax: Compatible with Mac (requires macOS 11.0 or later and a Mac with the Apple M1 chip); iPhone or iPad (Requires iOS 9.0 or later)
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Breathe2Relax is a portable stress management tool which provides detailed information on the effects of stress on the body and instructions and practice exercises to help users learn the stress management skill called diaphragmatic breathing.Breathing exercises have been documented to decrease the body’s ‘fight-or-flight’ (stress) response, and help with mood stabilization, anger control, and anxiety management. Breathe2Relax can be used as a stand-alone stress reduction tool, or can be used in tandem with clinical care directed by a healthcare worker. Breathe2Relax now uses HealthKit and your Apple Watch device to measure your heart rate throughout your breathing exercise to help provide an even more complete picture of the relaxation experienced.
Chill Panda: Compatible with Mac (requires macOS 11.0 or later and a Mac with the Apple M1 chip); iPhone, iPad or iPod touch (Requires iOS 11.0 or later)
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Chill Panda is a type of app that allows children and adults to start to understand how their bodies respond to different feelings. To start learning about this you can use the app to take your heart rate, use a simple scale to rate your feelings, and then do some play based activities demonstrated to you by a panda avatar. It aims to enhance self-regulation of emotions by introducing ideas and skills that could help children and families understand the relationship between their feelings, body sensations and different activities.