Service Detail

We offer assessment and treatment for children up to and including 12 years of age, who have a an established or suspected mental health disorder which requires a period of intensive assessment and/or treatment. Referrals will be accepted from Tier 3 CAMHS services.

Our unit works closely with parents or carers to understand their child's needs, the impact of the child’s difficulties on other people around the child, and the effect of those changes upon the family on the child.

Treatment at Acorn Lodge is based around a weekly, five-day model, allowing the child to spend evenings and weekends home. This model is very important for both the child and the family to help minimise the time away from home, and also to undertake interventions within a community setting. Following assessment, children will be offered a six to eight week programme to engage in education and access one to one therapeutic support from nursing staff and multi-disciplinary team colleagues.

The education and clinical teams will provide a package of care which best meets the child’s holistic needs and one that can be continued in the community. Our staff are from a variety of specialist backgrounds, including child psychiatry, clinical psychology, nursing, social work and occupational therapy.

Education is provided on site by specialist teaching staff at the Maudsley and Bethlem Hospital School

13 October - ADHD medication supply disruptions: Advice for General Practitioners

On Friday 27 September 2023 the Department of Health and Social Care issued a National Patient Safety Alert regarding supply disruptions with many of the medication prescribed for ADHD (Equasym XL, Xaggatin XL, Concerta XL, Xenidate XL, Lisdexamfetamine, Guanfacine). This disruption has been attributed to a combination of manufacturing issues and increased global demand. Please see the 'more info' tab below for further information.

Update 15 December 2023:

The National Adult ADHD and ASD Clinic and Psychology Service remains paused to new National referrals at present.  We will provide further updates in June 2024.

Please note we remain open to local referrals from Lambeth, Lewisham, Croydon, Southwark and Bromley, Greenwich, Bexley (via Oxleas).

We also remain open to new referrals requesting medical reviews and follow ups for patients with an established diagnosis of a genetic disorder associated with an established behavioural phenotype, for example, 22q 11 deletion syndrome.

All accepted referrals past and up to the date 13 January 2023, will be honoured for assessment and/or treatment as per the referral request, this will include those currently on the waiting list.

As previously notified 18 July 2022:

From Friday 13 January 2023, the National adult ADHD & ASD outpatient clinic and the National adult ADHD & ASD Psychology Service (NAAAPS) are temporarily closed to new national referrals for an initial period of 6 months. Any referrals sent following this time will not be processed or kept on file. This decision is being reviewed regularly. Unfortunately we do not as yet have a date as to when we will be receiving new ADHD and ASD referrals again. Please contact your local Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) for information on local services available.

Please note we remain open to local referrals from Lambeth, Lewisham, Croydon, Southwark (via A&L) and Bromley, Greenwich, Bexley (via Oxleas). We also remain open to new referrals requesting medical reviews and follow ups for patients with an established diagnosis of a genetic disorder associated with an established behavioural phenotype, for example, 22q 11 deletion syndrome.

We continue to experience an extremely high volume of referrals which unfortunately is resulting in delays in processing. We are working as quickly as possible and appreciate your patience during this time.

Please contact your local teams for access to talking therapies and/or mental health support as required. The Autism Act (2009), NHS Long Term Plan (2019) and other policy and best practice documents clearly state that individuals with autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions should be seen within mainstream services, with ‘reasonable adjustments’ made, wherever possible.

Examples of helpful ‘reasonable adjustments’ for autistic individuals receiving talking therapies can be found in the National Autistic Society and MIND guide here

A range of helpful books on offering CBT for ADHD have been published.

Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy for ADHD in Adolescents and Adults (2012) by Susan Young and Jessica Bramham

Mastering Your Adult ADHD: A Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment Program, Therapist Guide (2 ed.) by Steven A. Safren, Susan E. Sprich, Carol A. Perlman, and Michael W. Otto

If you are struggling to get support you may wish to contact your local Patient Advisory and Liaison Service.

ART provides nursing, residential and specialist care placements for people, aged 18-65, who have recently moved to independent living.

We provide care co-ordination, specialist assessment and rehabilitation services for people who live in the Borough of Lambeth. Where necessary we also provide clinical care for non-Lambeth residents who have been placed within the borough, as well as social care for people who have moved to more independent, out of borough placements.

Our team includes health and social care professions, including nurses, occupational therapists, psychologists, social workers, support workers and psychiatrists.

We promote the recovery of people who require care and support in a residential setting.

We are a community-based assessment, treatment and advice service for people in the South Asian community, aged 18-65, who have a range of mental health and complex social care problems. We care for people living in the London Borough of Lambeth.

Our aim is to provide care for people in the South Asian community who, for cultural or language reasons are unable, or who refuse, to use sector-based mental health services.

Our adult community mental health team (CMHT) offers a range of culturally inclusive care and treatment services, and we are able to communicate in Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu as well as English.