Telephone Counselling Provision during School Summer Holidays 2021.
Service for young people aged 10+
A Lifelink telephone-based counselling service is now available for all young people aged 10+. The service is being run by qualified, experienced counsellors and aims to support young people to improve their mental wellbeing.
Who should use this service? Any school aged young person aged 10 or older who is experiencing emotional and wellbeing difficulties. The service can support young people with a wide range of difficulties including grief and loss, anxiety, low mood, anger and relationship and family issues.
How can it be accessed? Young people self-refer to this service initially by phoning the helpline number. This is the first point of contact with the counselling provider and during this call the counsellor will:
- provide immediate emotional support and signposting where appropriate.
- help to de-escalate problems and reduce stress.
- provide advice on practical approaches to managing emotions.
- work with the young person to establish whether or not they would benefit from further telephone counselling.
If it is jointly agreed that further telephone counselling would be beneficial then arrangements will be made directly with the young person for a further telephone call. The numbers (detailed below) are free to call from landlines and mobile phones. The telephone counselling service is available during the school summer holidays Monday to Friday between 12:00hrs – 16:00hrs. Young people should call directly. If parents or professionals feel that a young person would benefit from the service, then they can signpost the young person to the helpline. Some young people might want a parent or professional to support them to make the call and others will find privacy more supportive.
Who is providing this service? The service is being provided by Lifelink who are highly experienced in supporting children and young people. Young people in the catchment of Breadalbane Academy, Pitlochry High and Blair Atholl Primary should contact the helpline provided by Lifelink on:
0808 196 8707. Mon-Fri between 12:00 – 16:00hrs.
Is parental consent required? Parental consent is required for any young person aged 10 and 11. Young people aged 12 or above are able to provide their own consent. During the telephone conversation, some contact information will be gathered from the young people such as their name, date of birth, school, and a contact telephone number.
Will the counsellor share information with parents or professionals? Helpline discussions will remain confidential unless there is anything discussed that raises a concern about child or adult protection and safeguarding. If the counsellor feels the young person or someone else is at immediate risk of harm, they will then require breaking that confidentiality but would inform the young person of that before they did so. If the young person was considered to be unable to make appropriate decisions or lacking in understanding, this information would require to be shared. The counsellor would make them aware of this before involving anyone else.
How long will this service be available for? This service will be provided during the school holiday dates: starting on Friday 25th June – ending on Wednesday 11th August.
