New mental health and wellbeing tool for children and young people

21 November 2024

Making sure children and young people have the best start in life and helping them to achieve success in life are key priorities for Argyll and Bute Council. Supporting mental health and wellbeing is important to this success. To make support easy and more accessible, the Council, working with Argyll and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) is now offering a free new online mental health and wellbeing platform available to all 10-18 year olds.

Introducing Kooth
Kooth is an online resource offering a safe space where young people can access a wide range of mental health and wellbeing tools from any device from www.kooth.com. This is a no-wait, no-referral service, meaning that any young person can reach out for support whenever they need it, with the assurance that all community spaces are pre-moderated to maintain a safe and positive environment.

Kooth offers the following resources and services:

• A digital wellbeing magazine covering relevant topics
• Interactive discussion boards for peer support
• Mini self-care activities and goal-setting tools
• Direct access to qualified counsellors via text-based chat-available every day of the year, with live chat support from noon to 10 pm on weekdays and 6 pm to 10 pm on weekends.

Councillor Audrey Forrest, Policy Lead of Education:

"We're thrilled to introduce Kooth to support children and young people across Argyll and Bute. This tool provides instant access to mental health resources, helping anyone in need without waiting or traveling. Schools across the region are ready to help students access Kooth, but young people can also visit the platform independently at any time.

This is just the latest initiative we are introducing to help young people thrive and feel empowered in every part of their lives. We want every young person to feel supported to reach their full potential and we hope Kooth provides additional support where needed. "

This new resource is just one part of the council's wider plan to support children and young people. Recent investments include four new Learning Centres across Argyll and Bute, with two already operational and a third opening in Helensburgh in 2025. These centres will help young people receive specialised support close to home without the need to travel outside of Argyll and Bute. The Council also takes part in an award-winning mentoring programme that aims to help care-experienced and disadvantaged young people to unlock their potential regardless of their circumstances.

Visit Kooth at www.kooth.com to learn more.