To request direct therapeutic work, we accept professional referrals and self-referrals.

Professional Referrals:

A child or adult can be referred by any worker supporting the individual/family, by completing the referral form and emailing it to us via a secure method. Note that parent/carer details and consent must be provided when making a professional referral for a child aged 15 or under.

Once we have received a completed referral (see the downloadable word document on the top right of this page), we will screen for suitability. If the referral is deemed appropriate for an initial assessment, it will be allocated to a clinician and an initial assessment appointment offered. 

Following the initial assessment, a psychologically informed intervention will be recommended, which may include but is not limited to, further assessment, liaison and consultation with the service users’ network, offer of an evidence informed therapy (such as Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing/EMDR, Trauma Focussed-Cognitive Behavioural Therapy/CBT, Narrative Therapy). We aim to be responsive to the needs of service users and will prioritise this in the therapeutic frame and length of intervention that we use. Please note that the recommended interventions may be those delivered by our service, but might instead include interventions from other services, which we will refer or signpost to.

Self-referrals:

Anyone over the age of 15 can self-refer and parent(s)/carers can refer on behalf of their child(ren) by using the referral form. If support is required to complete the form, please contact us via phone or email, giving contact details and spoken language. We will then call back and support the completion of the referral form, with an interpreter if required.  

Once we have received a completed referral (see the downloadable word document on the top right of this page), we will screen for suitability. If the referral is deemed appropriate for an initial assessment, it will be allocated to a clinician and an initial assessment appointment offered. 

Following the initial assessment, a psychologically informed intervention will be recommended, which may include but is not limited to, further assessment, liaison and consultation with the service users’ network, offer of an evidence informed therapy (such as Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing/EMDR, Trauma Focussed-Cognitive Behavioural Therapy/CBT, Narrative Therapy). We aim to be responsive to the needs of service users and will prioritise this in the therapeutic frame and length of intervention that we use. Please note that the recommended interventions may be those delivered by our service, but might instead include interventions from other services, which we will refer or signpost to.

Inclusion Criteria for referral 

We welcome referrals if the individual meets all the conditions below. If you are unsure if all the conditions are met, please do not hesitate to discuss with us.  

• Is a child, young person or adult who currently lives in, or is registered with a GP, or is accessing education in the London Borough of Havering.
• Is an asylum seeker or refugee (including those with “no recourse to public funds”).
• Is experiencing significant difficulties in managing emotions or behaviour in the context of trauma related to their own direct experience of forced migration.
• Has agreed to this referral and is willing and able engage in psychological therapy. Note that ability to engage will be comprehensively assessed on an ongoing basis.
• Whose trauma related mental health needs cannot be met in mainstream specialist mental health settings (such as CAMHS, MHWT etc) even with reasonable adjustments, perhaps through consultation and guidance from our service.
• Is not in a current mental health crisis (e.g. repeated or impulsive suicide attempts or use of suicidal behaviour to manage difficult emotions within the last 3 months). In this instance, consider referral to the Crisis Team, MHWT or CAMHS.
• Has a recently updated risk assessment in RiO (applicable only to referrals from NELFT mental health services).