If you are worried that your young person has done something to seriously hurt themselves, their life is at risk or they cannot be kept safe, call 999 or go to A&E.
If you cannot make voice calls, you can contact 999 emergency services by SMS text from your mobile phone. Emergency SMS has been designed specifically for people with hearing loss or difficulty with speech.
For 24/7 immediate advice, support and signposting for people with mental health difficulties please contact 111 and select the mental health option.
If your child or the young person you care for has a history of mental health issues, experiences suicidal thoughts or feels vulnerable to increased self-harm, it may be helpful to create a Mental Health Safety Plan. The safety plan is a document that you and your child or young person can create together. It reminds them of their ways of coping with difficult feelings, the people who are there to support them and who to contact in an emergency.
It is always best to think about a safety plan when you are not experiencing a crisis as this allows you to think about useful, practical ways you can support your child should they reach a crisis point in the future. As part of safety planning, it may be worth talking to your child about an agreed code or emoji they can message you to let you know they need support, especially if they struggle to find the right words.
When planning consider the environment. If you are supporting your child or young person to stay safe, think about what you might need to put them out of harm's way. This doesn't mean having to get rid of things forever but is ensuring that those means are not readily available at the times when they feel most vulnerable. Consider where you keep medications, access to alcohol, household chemicals, sharp knives and other implements like ropes, belts, dog leads and other ligature risks.
You can complete a safety plan together, and both keep copies to refer to. It will also help you know how best to support your child in the future.
Time To Talk & Listen
It's important to take some time to talk and listen to your child. The aim of a safety plan is to increase awareness of risks and build a plan for keeping your young person safe, even when their emotions feel overwhelming.
The safety plan needs to belong to your child so they should have full input on what they feel comfortable with going into their plan. When talking about their feelings, go at their pace. There are safety plan templates created by different charities which can be helpful to think about when you talk to your child about their needs.
Most safety plans will cover some of these topics:
Read tips about how to talk to your child about suicidal thoughts
Every child is different and each young person will have different distraction and coping techniques which work for them when they are in need of support.
Try to think of times when objects, senses or people might have provided a positive calming influence on your child and start to consider which strategies might work best if they were needed
Providing Support
Once you have completed your plan, you can provide support from home by checking in with your child regularly to see how they are feeling. How often you check in with them will depend on their needs and what works well for you both.
If you think your child may be struggling or withdrawing, it's a sign to reach out. By doing this you are letting them know they aren't a burden and there's nothing to be ashamed of.
It may be useful to share your young person's safety plan with other people that your child spends time with, to increase the awareness that they could feel vulnerable and help to provide support in times of need. You can talk to your child about who their trusted adults are, for example, grandparents, relatives or a staff member at your child's school, college or university.
NHS advice about how to support a child if you are concerned about their mental health
Seek Specialist Advice
If you feel that your child is struggling and they need more support they can contact a number of services for young people who will be able to give trusted guidance and support.
If these are new symptoms or you notice an escalation or change in presentations, then it may be worth discussing this with your GP. If you are already under mental health services, contact the duty desk of that service directly and let them know your child or young person is struggling.
Services for young people in crisis:
Services to help support your child or young person:
If you are worried that your young person has done something to seriously hurt themselves, their life is at risk or they cannot be kept safe, call 999 or go to A&E.
For 24/7 immediate advice, support and signposting for people with mental health difficulties please contact 111 and select the mental health option. You can also text SHOUT to 85258. You can also contact your GP, who can help you access support.
If someone’s life is at risk or they cannot be kept safe, call 999 or go to A&E.
For 10 to 18-year-olds, Kooth is a free, confidential and safe way to receive online counselling, advice and emotional well-being support.
Childline - Children and young people under 19 can call 0800 1111 for free support.
Young Minds Parents Helpline - Call 0808 802 5544 for free Mon-Fri from 9.30am to 4pm.
To speak to other Norfolk parents and carers, you can join our online community forum below.
