Sometimes young people or family members ask directly for advice.

• Advice-giving and PsychoEducation:

Giving advice has much overlap with, but is also subtly different from the kind of "curriculum-based" teaching about a particular area of difficulty (say for Psychosis or Depression) that we might choose to offer PsychoEducation for. The section on PsychoEducation has plenty of information on the more practical "how to do it" elements of imparting knowledge about an area.

• Not so fast! - What do you actually want advice about?

It is important to avoid moving straight into advice giving before you are completely sure about what the young person or family wants advice about, and whether you have accurate information about this area. Remember the curious, inquisitive, tentative The Therapist's Mentalizing Stance.

• Modelling Mentalizing:

You can model Mentalization and the humility implied in acknowledging the limits of ones knowledge or understanding.

• Coupled to this, you can model the process of 'finding things out' with a young person, or family.
• Perhaps this would be something as simple as "phoning a friend"
• Perhaps using the Internet to search and sift your findings
• Perhaps a more intensive search strategy, such as attending a library, asking for advice, or contacting experts for specific advice.

• Specific Information:

If you need to give information or advice about issues to do with mental health, or Child Mental Health, you may find useful information in the two websites below:

1. My CAMHS Choices

This is a website run by the Evidence Based Practice Unit (based at the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families), UCL, Young Minds charity and Off the Record Bristol:

(If the window below doesn't display follow this link)

2. Royal College of Psychiatrists

The website for the Royal College of Psychiatrists provides some good fact sheets. (If the window doesn't display properly you can use this link:

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