Free text counselling rolled out across Medway for people aged 11 to 25
A free text-based counselling service rolled out across Medway has been extended to young people up to the age of 25.
Kooth gives struggling youngsters contact with a qualified counsellor for up to one hour a week of free 1-2-1 text-based chat.
This month the service has been rolled out across the Medway Towns - but with those allowed to access the free help living in Medway able to be aged between 11 and 25.
People can self-refer online to Kooth, the system is anonymous and there are no waiting lists making it quick and easy for those in need of support to immediately voice their worries - particularly as life in lockdown continues for most.
Helplines are also manned into the evenings, with between 6pm and 10pm both the most likely time, and consequently often the busiest, when it comes to teens and older people looking for somewhere to offload.
The decision to extend the service up to the age of 25 for those in Medway is a result of the contract taken out by the Clinical Commissioning Group whose role is to commission services for their patients and local population.
Since the lockdown began in March as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Kooth says it has noticed an increase of around 30% in those logging into the service as well as a change in the types of issues and concerns young people are contacting its counsellors with.
Exam stress, bullying and and friendships have become declining issues since March and are being replaced instead with worries about sleep, loneliness, conflict and relationships within the home and concerns around eating disorders.
Those requiring support can have up to eight sessions across eight weeks and the service is only text-based, no audio or video is used.
None of Kooth's work replaces other mental health provision for young people in Kent and Medway but will instead work alongside it, encouraging those who it is felt require additional support to also get in touch with their GP for further face to face support via child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).
Alongside free text-based chat with a counsellor, those signed up to Kooth can also contribute to message boards on a wide variety of subjects, participate in discussions and read about topics and mental health issues that might interest them or that they could find helpful and supportive.
To learn more about the service visit www.kooth.com
For more family-related news visit www.mykentfamily.co.uk
