East Ayrshire Council & East Ayrshire HSCP commission Kooth Digital Health

There are no waiting lists or thresholds to meet, and no referral is needed to access Kooth.com. Once a young person is registered, the service is instantly available through any internet-connected device such as a smartphone, tablet or computer.

East Ayrshire Council and East Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership selected Kooth.com for its strengths-based approach and unique out-of-office hours provision. Kooth is accessible seven days per week, 365 days a year. This aligns seamlessly with the commitment from the Council and the HSCP’s Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Supports and Services Framework to ensure the right help is available to young people at the right time. 

Kooth.com has been designed to work alongside and integrate with other commissioned services within the established mental health pathways - adding to the rich toolbox of support provided by East Ayrshire Council and East Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership to its young residents. This pathway will provide all levels of emotional well-being and family support that can be accessed by children and young people within their own localities.

The Kooth.com service offers access to experienced counsellors and wellbeing practitioners via one-to-one text-based chat sessions that are available from midday to 10 pm on weekdays and from 6 pm to 10 pm on the weekend.

Running alongside is a Kooth.com community of peer support which is fully safeguarded and pre-moderated, meaning messages and comments are checked before they appear online. Features on our platform include:

• Helpful articles: written by other young people in the community, alongside the Kooth team. They cover a variety of topics that are age-appropriate and resonate with the reader, such as personal experiences and helpful tips.
• Discussion boards: where young people can seek advice from their peers or join - and start - pre-moderated conversations. The topics covered are those that are on the minds of young people, from exams or work stress to relationship and friendship issues.
• Daily journal: offers a place for young people to track their feelings or emotions and reflect on how they're doing.

Craig McArthur, Director of East Ayrshire East Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership explained: “It’s essential that we provide young people with mental health support that is available when, how, and where needed. Only then we can empower young people to seek help. By commissioning Kooth we are offering a choice of personalised mental health services that can be accessed 24/7 at a mere click (or tap) of a button. It’s another step forward in our commitment to promote, protect and improve young people’s emotional well-being and mental health across East Ayrshire.”

Dr Lynne Green, Chief Clinical Officer at Kooth, added: “At Kooth, we are on a mission to ensure that all young people have access to timely and effective mental health care based on their individual preferences and needs. However, seeking help and support with mental health concerns is not always easy, especially when you are a young person. This is where digital mental health services can help.

“Kooth.com will provide the young people of East Ayrshire with support that is anonymous, safe and effective and available around the clock. No matter how big or small the issue, our team of experienced practitioners and professional counsellors are here to help.”

Kooth will work in tandem with East Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership, East Ayrshire Council, NHS Ayrshire and Arran GP surgeries, schools and community services to raise awareness of the service, ensuring that every young person (aged 14 to 24) knows that Kooth.com is available and accessible to them.

Kooth is accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and is the UK’s leading digital mental health platform.