The CAMHS Waiting Gap: A Real Parent's Guide to Supporting Your Child While You Wait

Your child needs help. Someone has finally agreed. And now you are waiting.

You pushed, you advocated, you filled in the forms, and at last a referral was made. But the appointment has not come, and every day still feels as hard as it did before. Your child is struggling now, not in three months, and you are the one holding it all together while you wait.

This is the waiting gap. And this book is for you.

Written by a mum who has lived every page of it, The CAMHS Waiting Gap is a warm, practical guide for parents supporting a child or young person who is struggling while they wait for mental health support. It does not pretend to replace the help your child needs. What it does is sit beside you in the wait, and give you real, usable things to hold on to.

Inside you will find:

Clear, honest explanations of what is really happening for your child, and for you, during the wait.
How to respond day to day without making things harder.
How to keep your child safe, calmly and practically.
The Calm Box, and simple grounding tools you can use anywhere.
How to spot the warning signs before they peak.
A plan for the harder days, and how to look after yourself while you carry it all.

No jargon. No judgement. Just the steady support one parent wishes someone had handed her in the thick of it.

Whether your child is fourteen or a young adult caught in the gap between children’s and adult services, if you are waiting, worried, and holding on, you are not doing this alone.

Part of the Chaos to Calm Knowledge Series.