23 November 2022

This is Anita Henderson.

Anita has worked as a mental health nurse since she was 22-years-old, and she’s been working for CAMHS for the past decade.

She was attracted to CAMHS after seeing first-hand how important it is to offer help to people at the earliest opportunity.

“I was working with an adult,” she said. “And it was somebody that really could have done with some support as an adolescent, and I just thought, actually, this is probably one of the areas that I’m best in clinically.

“So, working with people who are quite emotionally dysregulated, often with self-harm behaviours, suicide ideation. When you’ve got the skills and you’re able to care and you can make a difference, if you can do it at an early age there’s a whole different prognosis on people’s lives.anita.png

After 10 years in CAMHS, Anita knows what it takes to be a successful clinician.

“You need to be caring, you need to be kind, you need to be considerate, and you need to have a sense of humour.

“I think it’s about being prepared and knowing that this is the environment you’re going to be working in, but realising how rewarding it is as well. I do love the job, I think it’s a really worthwhile job.

“It’s a fantastic area because the resources are here to support people’s development and to give that care that you want to give the young person.”

Anita’s story forms part of There’s A Place For You, a series of films from our CAMHS service. 

The series, produced by And Productions, was created with our staff, showing the working and clinical experiences of child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).

CAMHS is made up of a team of professionals with different skills and backgrounds who work together to provide a range of specialist support to young people and their families, helping with their mental health and emotional wellbeing.

In these films, team members from across the service reveal the day-to-day realities of their roles in mental health, highlighting how rewarding their work is, and why they are so passionate about working with young people.

We hope this can help raise awareness of the opportunities a career within CAMHS can offer. The full series will be released online over the coming months, so keep an eye out for more stories.

There's a place for you

Here at CNWL, we have a range of opportunities across CAMHS in mental health, community services, eating disorders, learning disabilities and more – whatever stage of your career you’re at.

Be part of our fantastic team. View our current vacancies here and see below:

You can find out more about the different professionals involved in a children’s mental health team on our CAMHS service page