Online service launched to help young people's mental health

Kooth is a new FREE, safe and anonymous service to support young people’s emotional and mental health in Birmingham.

We know young people have been worried about things such as exams being cancelled and the impact of Covid-19 on their loved ones.

When was Kooth launched in Birmingham?

The new service for young people, aged 11 to 25, was launched on Easter Monday - 13 April 2020.

How do children and young people register? 

Children and young people can gain access to Kooth by completing a quick and easy online self-referral at www.kooth.com .

What support does Kooth offer? 

Kooth is linked into the wider mental health support from Forward Thinking Birmingham and offers:

• Online mental health counselling and chat services from 12.00pm midday to 10.00pm during the week, and 6.00pm to 10.00pm at weekends
• Peer-to-peer support through moderated discussion forums
• Self-care tools and resources to build resilience
• Early response to and identification of emotional wellbeing and mental health problems
• And there are no waiting lists, referrals or thresholds to access the service

Said Andy Couldrick, Chief Executive of Birmingham Children’s Trust: “We are very proud to have helped to support the creation of Kooth, an online service to support all children and young people in Birmingham who are dealing with an unprecedented crisis that is affecting their mental health just as much as it is physical health.

“Here at the Trust we know important it is that we provide crucial mental health support for the children and young people we care for. Our staff are already working incredibly hard, using technology to virtually support some of the most vulnerable children and young people in the city, so to add Kooth to that offer is going to provide a significant lifeline to our young people, including those in care and leaving care can benefit from this support. We are delighted to share this offer with all our staff and all the children and young people we support."

Councillor Kate Booth, Cabinet Member for Children’s Wellbeing at Birmingham City Counci, said: “The council is working tirelessly with partners to put the right support in place for children, young people and their families. I’m grateful to Kooth for their quick response so young people can get the mental health help they need now. This is part of a package of support we are establishing in each neighbourhood to help families and their communities to get through this troubling time.

The Kooth service is funded by Birmingham City Council, and contracted by Birmingham and Solihull Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

This is part of the Birmingham Children’s Partnership response to Covid-19 for vulnerable families.