Help when things are not going well

Sometimes, our mental health may not be as good as we hope. We may not feel happy, safe and able to thrive. This happens to many children and young people from time to time. We may have friendship problems, be anxious about the future, confused about body changes or stressed about exams. We may have worries and feel sad. There is lots of advice and information online about how to help. The organisations below may be able to help you:

Childline helps anyone under 19 in the UK with any issue they’re going through. You can talk about anything. Whether it is something big or small, their trained counsellors are there to support you. Childline is free, confidential and available any time, day or night. You can talk to them:

• by calling 0800 1111
• by email via their website: www.childline.org.uk
• through 1-2-1 counsellor chat on their website: www.childline.org.uk

You can get excellent advice and support from YoungMinds. They have a free helpline (0808 802 5544) staffed Monday to Friday. You can also find information on their website at: www.youngminds.org.uk/parent/

#Thrive is for children and young people from 4 to 19 years. If you are: Feeling worried, angry or upset Struggling to cope? Stressed about school or exams? Feeling bad about yourself? Experiencing bullying or relationship worries? Or are you just feeling a bit low and not enjoying things? You must live, or be registered with a GP practice (doctor), in Heywood, Middleton or Rochdale. Contact them on 0161 716 2844.  

 The Anna Freud organisation have an excellent website full of really useful resources to support the mental health and wellbeing of children over 10 years old.

https://www.annafreud.org/on-my-mind/

Kooth provides a safe, secure means of accessing help for mental health via the internet for pupils aged 11+. By accessing Kooth you can benefit from:

• A free, confidential, anonymous and safe way to receive support online.
• Out of hours’ availability. Counsellors are available from 12noon to 10pm on weekdays and 6pm to 10 pm at weekends, every day of the year on a drop in basis.
• Online Counselling from a professional team of BACP qualified counsellors is available via 1-1 chat sessions or messaging on a drop in basis or via booked sessions.
• Discussion Boards which are all pre-moderated allow young people to access peer to peer support.
• Online Magazine full of moderated articles many of which are submitted by young people offering advice and guidance on a huge range of topics.
• No referral is required.  Young people from Year 6 onwards can register for Kooth independently at www.kooth.com

To use the service or find out more visit www.Kooth.com

You can also view a short video about the service by following this link: Kooth Video    

The Proud Trust is a charity who support LGBTQ+ young people and those young people who may be questioning their identity.

Their website hopes to give a deeper understanding of LGBT+ identities and also provide information about how to support LGBT+ children and young people. The hope is that this will lead to more informed, open and supportive conversations with children and young people about LGBT+ identities.

In the case of a mental health emergency call 999. You will not be wasting anybody’s time and this is just as important as a physical emergency.