Three new face to face services will be provided by Aberlour, Barnardos and Falkirk and District Association for Mental Health (FDAMH). FDAMH and Aberlour will provide a more intensive support for trauma, self-harm, depression, whilst Barnardos’ is an early intervention service to support children and young people with resilience, positive relationships, and online safety, along with support for parents.

(Image caption: the age ranges covered by the 3 in-person services and 4 online services, highlighted in different colours depending on the type of service.)

Three online services are also now available:

Kooth

An online wellbeing and mental health service, available for any child or young person in Falkirk aged 10 – 18 years old, which provides a range of support including self-help materials, a moderated peer community and 1:1 professional support from Kooth’s team of counsellors and emotional wellbeing practitioners.

Kooth has no referrals, thresholds or waiting lists. Registration requires no name, exact date of birth, address, or phone number.

Young people can access this service anonymously by visiting the Kooth website.

Togetherall

An online mental health and wellbeing support service, available for young people aged 16 – 26 years old in Falkirk. Togetherall provides anonymous and free online support in a safe community environment, along with courses and resources. Members can connect with peers who are experiencing similar thoughts and feelings, and keep track of their own thoughts and feelings in an online journal.

The service is clinically managed and professionally moderated 24 hours a day by a team of registered mental health practitioners called Wall Guides. Members of Togetherall can also start a conversation at any time with a Wall Guide for further support.

To register, please visit the Togetherall website.

You will be asked to enter your postcode and follow the simple registration process that requires no name, address, or mobile number. Upon account activation, you will be presented with a short questionnaire that asks for details about your current mental health, to help personalise your experience on Togetherall, and help Togetherall identify high-risk cases.

Shout

A free and confidential 24/7 text-based support service for anyone of any age struggling with their mental health.

For the texter, the service is free and off-bill, and requires no app, data, password or registration.

The goal of the text conversation is to help the texter reach a calm and safe place and support them to feel empowered to take positive next steps. As well as reading and responding without judgement, trained Shout volunteers may provide texters with further resources or tools for more expert support.

The service operates through an algorithm which reviews incoming texts, placing urgent cases at the top of the queue. Trained clinical supervisors monitor conversations 24/7 and can escalate texters to the emergency services via a direct line if they are deemed an imminent risk.

To be be paired with a volunteer from Shout, text “Falkirk” to 85258.

A fourth online support for younger children, Mindmoose, is being piloted across 7 primary schools in Falkirk.

If you have any questions about any of the services above, or if you would like any physical or digital resources to promote the services on your social media accounts, or with colleagues and partners who may find the information useful, please contact Kerry Kennedy by email: Kerry.Kennedy@cvsfalkirk.org.uk