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Child and youth mental health services — Canterbury

We provide a range of mental health services for children and youth in Canterbury, including inpatient and community-based care.

On this page

Urgent help

For a child or young person mental health emergency in Canterbury:

Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm, freephone: 0800 218 219 (option 2)
after hours, weekends and public holidays, freephone: 0800 920 092

Services we provide

CAFLink mental health service

CAFLink connects children, adolescents and their families with mental health services in Canterbury.

CAF community mental health services

Child, adolescent and family community services (CAF) provides outpatient mental health support for children and adolescents up to and including 17 years of age.

Child Integrated Care team

A service for young people aged 5 to 13 years, in the custody of the Chief Executive of Oranga Tamariki | Ministry for Children, who have a confirmed or suspected serious mental health issue.

Ngā Kākano inpatient mental health service

Ngā Kākano is a specialist South Island treatment and assessment service for children and adolescents who have severe psychiatric, emotional, behavioural, or developmental disorders.

Youth forensic mental health service

The Canterbury Youth Forensic Team work with youth aged 10 to 18 years with moderate to severe mental health issue, who are in the Youth Justice System.

Last updated 29 May 2025