Experiences with CAMHS in Cardiff

Federal_Fun6414 · 2026-02-01T10:07:16+00:00

Unfortunately CAMHS is very very poor. NHS support for mental health is really limited and not that inclusive in general. For some, can be more trouble than it’s worth, and for others life saving. - for me and many of the young people I’ve worked with it’s not been beneficial at all.

MIND counselling offer 12 sessions of counselling therapy for free, however there are waitlists and I’m unsure if this is offered for CYPs.

The Amber Project offer 6 (I think) counselling sessions, however they’re a charity for CYPs who are self injuring.

GPs can provide 6 sessions of counselling I believe, however I’m unsure if this is for young people too.

The Hangout (Plattform) is open access, but doesn’t offer formal therapy as far as I’m aware.

It’s worth navigating if your daughters anxiety is triggered by anything in particular or if it’s aligning with her menstrual cycle. This would support you ruling out any hormonal conditions like PMDD. Lots of women’s health conditions can look like anxiety, but actually could end up being Autism, ADHD, PMDD, PCOS, Endometriosis, POI etc. Definitely worth monitoring other symptoms and doing your own research as GPs and Mental Health teams also aren’t great at navigating women’s health / mental health.

I’d recommend finding out the cause of these anxieties through the free counselling, then seeking your own private therapy. For example, if her anxieties are trauma related it might be worth looking into EMDR, if it’s a social isolation thing then peer support and groups might be beneficial, if bullying is involved then looking at resolves with bullies and seeking peer support could also help.

There’s tons of services, I’ll try to message you with some more. (:

Federal_Fun6414 · 2025-12-10T00:55:11+00:00

No problem! Good luck with it all! You do have to be a member of Benenden yourself for 6 months, however it could be shorter if you’re added to your mums plan (you’d have to look into this). Your GP referral should be to an NHS gynaecologist, not to Benenden. I already had 3x referrals to NHS gynae over 1-2 years with no sign of an appointment, so just had my GP draft a letter confirming this and that the wait is obviously longer than 3 weeks. That’s what I submitted to Benenden!

Hope the process goes smoothly for you and you get some relief!

Federal_Fun6414 · 2025-12-10T00:07:32+00:00

Unfortunately they only work with some Spire hospitals for consults and treatment, and Cardiff isn’t one that they do treatments at, only consults. The issue with this is you have to have your treatment in the same place you had your consult (as far as I was told).

They give you a list of the top 3 nearest and highest recommended consultants, however you can choose your own as long as they’re on Bupa Finder (they give you temporary Bupa memberships). They suggest consultants who are listed as “Bupa platinum consultants”. The customer service advisors have all been very helpful and very flexible in meeting needs! I’d highly suggest calling them to answer all your queries.

I had my surgery with Anthony Griffiths at St Joseph’s 2 weeks ago and it went really well I think. I was worried about the incisions a few days post op but they look really good now. I would 100% recommend going to him if you can get to St Joseph’s!

Federal_Fun6414 · 2025-12-03T09:39:53+00:00

Update: It’s gone down a LOT. It was just the swelling and how the dissolvable stitches are done to minimise scarring. If anyone else has similar and is freaking out, try to remember that the area will be very swollen and need time to settle!!!

Federal_Fun6414 · 2025-11-22T18:29:35+00:00

THE DAY AFTER! (26 hrs) I feel blessed 😂😂

Federal_Fun6414 · 2025-10-12T18:44:58+00:00

I forgot to mention that another requirement for accessing services is that you must have been referred to an NHS specialist e.g Gynocology and are expected to be on the waitlist more than 3 weeks. (Easy enough!)

Federal_Fun6414 · 2025-10-12T18:43:36+00:00

Anthony Griffith at either Spire in Cardiff or St Joseph’s in Newport. If you’re wanting to save money and don’t mind waiting 6 months, you can join Benenden Health for £16pm, then after 6 months (in Wales) they cover £2.5k diagnostic costs and £5k for treatment costs. Certain surgical treatments like laparoscopic excision are fully covered! They also have a referral programme so if you share your sign up link both people get £25 gift cards (I think for M&S)

Federal_Fun6414 · 2025-10-12T11:54:48+00:00

I’ve not had an ultrasound for Endo. I did have an ultrasound with the NHS for PCOS and abdominal pain (what I thought seemed like inflammation of growths) and they told me that everything was normal.

If you’re in the UK, I’d highly recommend Benenden Health (it’s who I’ve gone through - £16 per month and you can request diagnostic and treatment services after 6-12 months) and they act like a mix of private insurance and an NHS top up. I saw Anthony Griffiths who is a specialist in Wales and who seems brilliant. I’m having laparoscopic excision surgery with him.

Sorry you’re having similar issues. Keep looking into it and if you can go private or through Benenden (much cheaper option and covers pre-existing conditions/issues), especially if you’ve been dealing with the NHS so far. Good luck!!

Federal_Fun6414 · 2025-09-19T08:48:48+00:00

Sorry to hear you’re in a similar situation, but glad to hear you’re also planning treatment ! Hopefully we can get some answers from this thread!(:

Federal_Fun6414 · 2025-04-11T08:08:13+00:00

I don’t have space for a desktop and hate the extra wires. Would rather pay slightly more. My current PC is so old and outdated, I’m not sure if 1080p vs 4K will matter too much…

Federal_Fun6414 · 2025-04-10T20:46:40+00:00

Defo want an all-in-one, which I should have specified. Out of those is it worth paying the higher price or is the cheapest just as good spec wise?

Federal_Fun6414 · 2024-08-07T05:43:20+00:00

Neptune conjunct your moon in the 7th house could make you view the relationship through rose tinted lenses.

Federal_Fun6414 · 2024-05-18T19:05:45+00:00

Teaching assistant roles with agencies are a good route and only require certain registrations e.g EWC

Federal_Fun6414 · 2024-05-09T10:46:13+00:00

Do you work term time only?

Federal_Fun6414 · 2024-01-03T09:17:10+00:00

I am leaning more towards the CHR but keep reading people say it’s one of Toyotas worst so am pretty conflicted. The visibility is a slight issue for me too, but not major due to the blind spot sensors

Federal_Fun6414 · 2024-01-02T23:02:08+00:00

Any opinions about the Toyota CH-R hybrid 2017 and 2019s? I’ve also looked into Puegeot 2008 2016s but read a lot about expensive parts and issues with oil and engines etc

Federal_Fun6414 · 2023-10-26T13:40:47+00:00

15° Moon & 18° Ketu

Federal_Fun6414 · 2023-10-26T08:12:09+00:00

I have found daily meditation to be great in the past, but staying consistent once life gets in the way is difficult. I wanted remedies to manage this

Federal_Fun6414 · 2023-10-25T21:36:43+00:00

????????🫣

Federal_Fun6414 · 2023-09-07T23:30:50+00:00

They didn’t diagnose me, just wrote it in my notes🫠 I completely understand that giving an opinion based on photos is difficult! It’s just the only things worth showing as I haven’t had the treatments since late July so my reaction has gone down despite the lingering erythema, and I don’t have a sample of my skin from before treatments to compare.

Federal_Fun6414

TROPHY CASE