Free mental health support for kids over the Christmas period

XenZone’s online counselling and emotional wellbeing service, Kooth, is available every day in Buckinghamshire throughout the Christmas holidays, giving children and young people access to free mental health and wellbeing support outside term-time.

The service gives children and young people access to self-help materials, peer-to-peer support, moderated forums and messaging from any connect device.

Last year (November 2017 – November 2018) on Kooth, over 90,000 young people logged in to Kooth, with most (72%) accessing the service outside traditional opening hours. Kooth is anonymous and available to users 24-hours a day.

Dr Lynne Green, Clinical Director for XenZone, said, "We know that around one in eight children are likely to have a mental health problem at any one time; the number experiencing poor emotional health and wellbeing is no doubt much higher. For these children, Christmas may not be the happy and relaxing time it is for others. At Kooth, we recognise that the need for support does not stop over the Christmas period. For some, that need is intensified. We are 100% committed to ensuring our services remain accessible and responsive because no child or young person should be without the support they need."

Kooth, accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), offers children and young people online counselling from 12-noon until 10pm on weekdays and from 6pm until 10pm on weekends.

Christmas counselling hours are slightly different to reflect demand:

Monday 24th December, Christmas Eve: 12noon – 8pm

Tuesday 25th December, Christmas Day: 4pm – 8pm

Wednesday 26th December, Boxing Day: 4pm – 8pm

Monday 31st December, New Year’s Eve: 4pm – 8pm

Tuesday 1st January, New Year's Day: 4pm – 8pm