Counselling service ready to help young

CHILDREN and young people in Halton will be able to access an online counselling and emotional wellbeing service over the New Year period.

Kooth, produced by XenZone, provides self-help materials, peer-to-peer support, moderated forums and messaging.

Halton is one of the clinical commissioning group areas to have opted to offer the service.

A XenZone spokeswoman said more than 90,000 young people logged into Kooth from November 2017 to November 2018, with 72% accessing it outside traditional opening hours.

Kooth is anonymous and available 24 hours a day, with adjusted hours for specific services.

Accredited by the British Association For Counselling And Psychotherapy (BACP), it offers children and young people online counselling from noon until 10pm on weekdays and from 6-10pm on weekends.

Hours are as follows: New Year’s Eve, 4-8pm, and New Year’s Day, 4-8pm.

Dr Lynne Green, XenZone clinical director, said: “We know that around one in eight children are likely to have a mental health problem at any one time; the number experiencing poor emotional health and wellbeing is no doubt much higher.

“For these children, Christmas may not be the happy and relaxing time it is for others.

“At Kooth, we recognise that the need for support does not stop over the Christmas period. For some, that need is intensified. We are 100% committed to ensuring our services remain accessible and responsive because no child or young person should be without the support they need.”