EyUp! funding has helped the child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) eating disorder and responsive adolescent and children’s home-based treatment (ReACH) team buy scented and unscented sensory relief putty.
The sensory relief putty has helped manage increased emotions and reduce heightened sensory awareness for children and young people who present with an avoidant food disorder.
Use of the putty is helping engage children and young people during an assessment and minimises distress, which can be difficult when working with people with an avoidant food disorder. Such presentations can require a different way to work and utilise other distraction techniques.
Charlotte Jones, team manager for CAMHS ReACH team and eating disorder team said “Using sensory relief putty around meal times has helped to reduce anxiety to a level where food can then be eaten.”
A young person commented “The poppers helped with my concentration and the ability to distract myself so that I could talk to others. The mood octopus let me show how I felt without having to say it”.
Find out more about the service on our website – Child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) in Wakefield – South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
