Resources for Parents, Carers and Professionals

At The Nest, we provide 1:1, face-to-face or online therapeutic support consisting of 6-12 weekly appointments. We are an early-intervention wellbeing centre, which means we may not be the suitable support option for all young people experiencing emotional distress. 

• Need to know more before submitting a referral? Please see our service criteria here. 

What we can work with 

Mild to moderate presenting mental health concerns including anxiety, low mood and depression, low self-esteem, 

• No current other therapeutic support 

• Young person is willing to engage in therapy 

• Young person must be a Southwark resident 

• GP details must be supplied 

• Emergency contact details must be supplied 

• No active self-harm within previous 3 months 

• No suicidal ideation or intent 

Still unsure? Please do email us at thenest@groundwork.org.uk before sumitting a referral. We are happy to help and will be able to advise you. 

• All our referrals are triaged within 7 days of receipt. Sometimes referrals are not filled-in correctly and this can create significant delays to a young person getting support. 

• We created a guide on how to write a referral to The Nest – take a look before submitting a referral, your young person will benefit from this:

Required Details

• Name, address and date of birth of young person 

• Phone number and email of young person if over 18 

• Name, address, phone and email of the parent/carer (if under 18) and emergency contact. 

• The emergency contact must be a friend, family member or other trusted adult (aged 18 or over) who knows the young person directly and can reach them. It cannot be a professional such as a GP, social worker or teacher 

• Name of GP Surgery 

• School/College/University (if applicable)  

• Full reasons for the referral and what the young person wishes to gain 

• What is the presenting problem? When did this start? How is it impacting their day-to—day life?  

• What is their current situation and support (e.g. school, CAMHS, charities, social workers)? 

• What past support have they received? For example, if historic traumatic incidents are referenced such as witnessing domestic violence, did they receive any support at the time?  

• What goals does the young person have for therapy? What would they like to get out of their sessions?  

• Have any other referrals to mental health or other support services been made? 

Make a Referral

You are welcome to bring your child here and wait in our waiting area during the session, but it is not required if you are happy for them to come to The Nest alone. 

An important part of therapy is a confidentiality between the therapist and client. This allows your child to be open and honest about their thoughts and feelings. Therefore, if you arrive with your child, you would be asked to sit in the waiting area away from the therapy rooms to give the session some privacy.  

There are times when we will speak to you or others, such as your social worker, about what has been discussed. These would be safeguarding concerns where the therapist believes there is a risk of harm to your child, or someone else. 

Consent and engagement is important for them to benefit from therapy. As a result, if the therapist feels that your child doesn’t want to be there, then they would be unable to continue. We suggest you ensure they are engaged with the idea of attending well before we offer appointments. If they are not, it would be better to let us know and you can re-refer at a later date if they would like to start then. 

We offer some parental support that is listed on our website https://thenestsouthwark.org.uk/ and if you are looking for advice we suggest speaking to Young Mind’s parental helpline: https://www.youngminds.org.uk/parent/parents-helpline/ 

Due to the high demand for our service, we need as much notice as possible for cancellations so we can see other clients. Please email in to let us know you cannot attend as soon as you know you cannot make it. If you miss two assessments or three regular appointments for any reason without giving us 24 hours notice, we will have to discharge you from the service. So please reach out to us if you start to feel unwell or have booked holidays, upcoming exams or other appointments. Please do not send text messages to our main line number as we will not be able to view them, and our text message number does not support replies. Please email, or call. 

The majority of our sessions are during regular school and work hours with those outside subject to longer waits due to the demand. The therapists working those hours might also not be suitable for your case due to the area of expertise. As a result, we normally cannot accommodate specific requests for evening or weekend sessions. We can on request provide letters confirming your attendance here which can be given to the school or your employer. As most of our cases are during the school day, the schools are generally accommodating of absences to support their student’s mental health. 

It is not advisable for you to engage in two courses of therapy at the same time and accessing The Nest may preclude you from support with CAMHS. If you have started receiving support elsewhere, such as from the NHS, your school, or privately, please let us know beforehand and we can put your referral on hold until you have finished your current support. 

We use Microsoft Teams for our online appointments and we recommend you use a laptop or tablet if you have it. Before the session, please set up in advance. Make sure your device has enough charge, and a strong internet connection. There will need to be a private space you or your child, away from distractions or other people. A therapy session is confidential between the client and therapist so no other people should be present, such as family members or friends. 

You are free to sit in our waiting area until your child’s session is over. We do ask that you stay in the area with the turquoise sofas and keep your voice down. This is so as not to disturb clients in session and to respect their privacy. 

The Nest is fully wheelchair accessible, and we have an accessible toilet on site.