Help is at hand for young people suffering complex mental health in Sheffield

And it’s not just adults that are finding it difficult, children are also having a tough time, more so than adults in some ways.

This is where people like Lily Roscamp come in.

Lily is a children’s clinical mental health nurse at the Becton Centre at Sheffield Children’s, working to support the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people.

The Becton Centre for Children and Young People is a state-of-the-art centre for anyone aged up to 18 with serious and complex mental health issues. It offers intensive outreach treatment, day and inpatient services in four lodges: Amber Lodge (ages 5-11), Emerald Lodge (ages 10-14), Ruby Lodge (ages 8-18) and Sapphire Lodge (ages 14-18).

Lily has worked on the Sapphire Lodge for four years now, supporting young people with their mental wellbeing.

She described her role: “I support young people in group sessions and through 1:1's. I promote techniques to help them manage their mental health symptoms, like dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) and mindfulness techniques. I do a lot of work with young people with eating disorders too, helping young people to challenge their disorders and thinking, as well as meal time support with young people and families.

“On Sapphire Lodge I get to be very hands on and support people 24 hours a day which I love. My favourite things to do are activities with young people like yoga, walks, sports and dancing. I love having fun with the young people on Sapphire and most of them will tell you I'm very silly.”

Lily continued: “My key tips for young people to promote good mental health are; be active even if this is just a ten minute walk or some gentle stretches, create a good routine for yourself (especially your sleep) and don't compare yourself to others.

“I also like to promote having a positive mind set, reframing some of you negative thoughts and creating a more positive idea for yourself can be super helpful or even having someone help you do this if you can't. A little tip for this - take ten minutes out of your day to find five positive things that have happened today and try and let go of two difficult things.”

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks t o everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a digital subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.