Anxiety treatment for children and young people

Anxiety is the most common mental health difficulty in childhood. One in five children and young people aged 8 to 25 has a probable mental health disorder, and anxiety and low mood account for most of those presentations (NHS England Mental Health of Children and Young People Survey, 2023). NHS CAMHS waiting times now run to twelve months or longer in many parts of England.

Blip is a private specialist mental health service for children and young adults aged 7 to 25, run to NHS care standards. Every case has one named clinician and a full multidisciplinary team behind it.

How anxiety presents in children and young people

Anxiety looks different depending on age. Across the 7 to 25 range, these are the presentations we see most often:

• Persistent worry about school, friendships, or everyday situations
• Refusal to attend school, or reluctance to separate from caregivers
• Physical symptoms without a medical cause: headaches, stomach aches, nausea
• Withdrawal from social situations that were previously managed without difficulty
• Sleep problems: trouble settling, waking in the night, nightmares
• Irritability or emotional outbursts that seem out of proportion to the trigger
• Asking for reassurance repeatedly, without the reassurance helping
• Panic attacks: racing heart, shortness of breath, a feeling of unreality
• Compulsive behaviour: repeating actions, checking, needing things in a particular order

How Blip assesses and treats anxiety

After triage, we assign one named clinician who stays with the case from assessment to discharge. The assessment covers what the anxiety actually looks like for your child, what sets it off, how it affects school and home life, and what has already been tried.

We offer a structured 8-week anxiety programme drawn from CBT evidence. Progress is measured using the RCADS (Revised Children’s Anxiety and Depression Scale), a tool designed for this age group. Scores are taken before treatment starts, at weeks 6 and 12, and at discharge. We target a 20% or greater reduction in anxiety score from assessment to discharge.

Every case is reviewed by the full multidisciplinary team: consultant psychiatrist, senior CAMHS practitioners, occupational therapist, and family therapist. The team meets weekly. No clinician makes decisions about a case on their own.

Pathway timescales

1. 1Triage. Within 5 working days of referral
2. 2Initial assessment. Within 3 weeks
3. 3Care plan agreed. Within 1 week of assessment
4. 4Intervention begins. Within 2 weeks of care plan