At their meeting earlier this month, Sefton Council’s Cabinet approved that Kooth, a universal digital service that provides mental wellbeing support for the Borough’s young people, be recommissioned until at least 2028.

Kooth, which is accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychology, supports young people aged between 10 and 25 with a free and anonymous, online, chat-based mental health support service.

Confidential text-based chats

Young people across Sefton can access one-to-one confidential text-based chats with qualified counsellors and emotional wellbeing practitioners. There are also monitored forums, advice and tools to help boost mental wellbeing, all of which are available via the Kooth website at www.kooth.com.

The service is designed to allow young people to seek support at a time suitable for them wherever they access the service online. The chat function is available from 12noon to 10pm Monday to Friday, and between 6pm and 10pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

Kooth is linked into other local services, and where more specialised support is required, young people are signposted or referred to the most appropriate help.

Usual pressures of growing up

Cllr Diane Roscoe who is Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Schools and Families said: “As well as all the usual pressures of growing up and transitioning into adulthood, today’s young people are feeling the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of the national cost-of-living crisis. Plus, there has been the fall-out from July’s tragic events in Southport.

“That is why it is so important to have a service like Kooth in place, where young people from Sefton can turn to mental health professionals for support when they need it.

“Kooth provides them with low-level support that helps young people manage their mental wellbeing and avoid developing more serious mental health problems.”

Boosts their mental health and wellbeing

Kooth has been operating for over 20 years and is commissioned across England. An independent review showed that Kooth effectively helps young people to boost their mental health and wellbeing. User report improved self-esteem, increased hope in their aspirations, and reductions in feelings of loneliness, low mood and anxiety.

The annual cost for the Kooth service will be £130,000, funded through the Council’s Public Health and Children’s Services, and Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board (Sefton Place).

As well as its universal offer, Kooth will engage specifically with young people who may particularly face mental health challenges. This includes those living in the most deprived areas of Sefton, children and young people with experience of care or homelessness, young carers, LGBTQ+ young people, and ethnic minority groups.

Positive impact

Cllr Mhairi Doyle, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Health and Wellbeing said: “It’s great to see the positive impact Kooth can have on young people and part of that is that the service has been developed and shaped by those young people, so it is providing what they want, in the way they want it.

“Not having this kind of service in place, or a gap in service, could have a harmful effect on our young people, so I am pleased we have been able to agree this seamless continuation for the next three years.”

You can find out more about Kooth here.