Publish date: 16 April 2026
Hear from Lisa Keech, CAMHS practitioner, talking about her role in the neurodevelopment assessment team in the latest Child Health blog.
I’m Lisa Keech, and I’m a CAMHS practitioner in the neurodevelopmental assessment team within North Tyneside Specialist CAMHS. I’m based at Albion Road Clinic, and I work within a multi-disciplinary team made up of psychiatrists, psychologists, assistant psychologists, nurses, and CAMHS Practitioners. We also have the most amazing admin team who keep us all on track!
CAMHS Practitioners can have a range of professional backgrounds. I'm an Occupational Therapist and a qualified teacher, and I use the knowledge and experience I've gained over the years to help me do this job, but I’m always learning more and developing my skills. I returned to a clinical role after teaching in a secondary school for a few years, and although I was nervous about my return to practice I didn’t need to worry – there are so many opportunities for training, and my supervisor and colleagues are brilliant at giving support and guidance.
What is a typical day like?
On a typical day I will carry out appointments in the clinic with young people and their families, contact parents to offer advice and support to help them manage their child's needs, liaise with other professionals, visit schools, and write detailed reports to explain the outcome of assessments. We ensure that our young people have the opportunity for individual appointments that are holistic and are based around their stage of development, interests and needs – sometimes we will do play-based sessions, craft activities, interactive games, or structured discussions. Whatever we do, the voice of the young person is of paramount importance.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
I love being in my team because I am valued not just as a professional, but also for just being me. My team is amazing - everyone is so supportive and we have lots of discussion and sharing of ideas so that we can offer the best service possible for our young people. I have had quite a varied career journey so far but have definitely found my niche in the neuro team! I really enjoy my job – my favourite part of the job is doing the individual sessions with young people, especially if it involves playing Dobble or The Sock Game!
What’s important to you and your team?
Me and my team take a neuro-affirmative approach to everything we do, and I’m so proud to be part of it. While we recognise the challenges that it can bring, we embrace and value neurodiversity – without it, society wouldn’t function because we need people’s brains to work in different ways so that we can make progress. We want to spread this message, to help young people to understand themselves better so that they can live happy and fulfilled lives.