Moving on to adult mental health services

Some people still need help when they become young adults.

If you have been using a child or young person's service and you still need support for your mental health, your service may talk to you about moving on to an adult mental health service (AMHS) You may hear this called transitioning to AMHS.

This can happen when you are around 18 but may happen any time between 16 and 25 depending on your personal circumstances and what's available in your local area.

What to expect

It can be scary to move on from the support you're used to and you may need extra help and information during this time. It can be helpful to know what to expect during this transition.

You’ll be given time to prepare

Your mental health service should talk to you about moving on to adult mental health services at least 6 months before things change.

This will help give you time to prepare and ask any questions you have, including:

who will be involved in your care
if your family will still be involved
if there will be a wait for support
if the support you are offered will be different

You should have a named person to help you

You'll have someone to help coordinate your care - a care-coordinator, a key worker or guardian.

This should be someone you already know such as a GP or someone from your mental health service. They can help you navigate the move over to adult mental health services.

You'll make a plan

Your plan should include:

what treatment and support you need
who will provide that support
the support you might need in a crisis and who you can contact
if and how you want parents or carers involved

You should be given a written copy of this plan.

Your appointment with adult mental health services (AMHS)

Your children and young people's mental health services team should refer you for an appointment with adult services. If you do not hear anything, check to make sure this is happening.

This appointment is to help work out what support you need, and to see if adult mental health services are right for you.

There should be someone from your children and young people's mental health services team at this appointment.

Adult mental health services

If adult mental health services are suitable for you, your care-coordinator or key worker should help you through the process of moving from one service to the other.

This might include sharing information about you with adult mental health services. This will only be done with your permission and consent.

Adult mental health services offer some similar types of treatment and support to children's and young people's services, such as talking therapies, self-management support and medicine. But the way the services work can be quite different.

Ask your children and young people's mental health services team to talk you though what might be different for you.

Find out more about adult mental health services