Birmingham City Council working with Birmingham Children’s Partnership has commissioned a free online mental health support service in response to the coronavirus crisis. It is accessible to all 11-25s in Birmingham, with no referrals, waiting lists or thresholds to meet.
The Kooth service is accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and delivered by XenZone, the UK’s largest digital mental health provider.
Kooth gives children and young people the opportunity to access online counselling from qualified counsellors who are available from mid-day to 10pm every weekend day and from 6pm to 10pm at weekends. Young people can drop in for one-to-one instant text-based chats or book a session in advance. The service encourages peer to peer support via moderated discussion forums and self-help through reading or submitting content. Children and young people can write in an online journal and use a goals tracker. Find out more here.
Update 18.04.20: The Kooth service now has a page on the City Council website.
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