A NEW location for mental health services for children and young people is set to open in York.

Charles Court, a building off Northfields in Strensall, has been given a new lease of life by The Retreat, and is preparing to open its doors to children, young people and families. The new location will be known as ‘The Retreat at Charles Court’.

The facility includes more than 40 rooms which have been carefully designed to offer therapy and specialist neurodevelopmental services, including Autism, to children and young people.

It will be the new home for The Retreat’s Autism Assessment and Diagnostic Service for children and young people, alongside a wide range of mental health services for children and young people.

Whilst social distancing and restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic remain in place, The Retreat continues to provide assessments and therapy sessions remotely online, with ‘face to face’ appointments beginning in June.

Dr Kim Bevan from The Retreat said: “We know that during the pandemic the number of children and young people aged 2-17 who have experienced a wide range of mental health issues, including anxiety and depression, has dramatically increased. So, it is vital now, more than ever, to help address this need.

“The Retreat at Charles Court is a dedicated facility for families, parents, carers, children and young people. It is equipped with high tech sensory rooms, high quality speech and language therapy facilities, video technology and play therapy tools. In addition, it has dedicated training rooms, comfortable rooms for consultations and a beautiful outside courtyard area.”

“It means The Retreat can provide a comprehensive package of services for children and young people within one, dedicated, ground floor building. The benefits of having a ‘whole team’ approach, incorporating all the different areas of specialist expertise in one place, is huge and we are really excited to start seeing the first people use this new facility.

“We are all very excited to see this year-long project come to fruition and we feel it is timely to meet the growing demand for these services as we move out of this year of being locked-down.”

If you want to know more about the services on offer, make a referral or ask for an appointment at The Retreat at Charles Court, then please call 01904 412 551 (option 3) or email info@theretreatyork.org.uk