Council invests in new mental health and wellbeing services for everyone

Published: 24th June 2021

Our mental health provision for young people, their families and Borders residents in general has been enhanced with the launch of two new mental health and wellbeing support services.

Partnerships have been commissioned with providers Kooth and Togetherall to offer the new services which will supplement and support the work already in place across the Borders. 

Kooth - support for young people aged 11-18

Kooth is an online counselling and emotional wellbeing support service providing young people age 11-18 (up to age 19 ) with a safe and secure means of accessing support from a professional team of qualified counsellors.

Togetherall - support for anyone aged 16 and over

Togetherall provides a supportive, online community for all residents aged 16 and over living within the Scottish Borders. Trained professionals are available 24/7 and there is a choice of safe therapeutic services, including online self-help courses.

Services can be acessed online from any device

Both services are free to use and completely anonymous. They are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and can be accessed online from any device at:

Support for young people from Quarriers

The additional support for young people complements the existing Quarriers Resilience for Wellbeing Service which is now well established in Borders schools and offers emotional health and wellbeing support using a counselling skills-based approach.

Quarriers is further developing its service to provide additional weekly drop-in sessions and will be offering support as part of the summer activity programme being provided by the Council and Live Borders.

Councillor Shona Haslam, SBC Leader

“The last year has seen a significant impact on the mental health and wellbeing of our young people, their families and other adults across the Borders. In response, we are extremely pleased to announce the launch of these two new initiatives which will provide much needed support for everyone as we take these next steps toward our further recovery. This investment is key to helping to build resilience after what has been an incredibly tough year, and demonstrates the commitment and importance of mental health to this administration.

“The new Kooth service is a significant addition to the support available for our young people while the Togetherall offering is one that can be accessed by residents of any age. I hope everyone will make use of these extremely helpful and accessible services with all the benefits that doing so will bring them.”

Dr Lynne Green, Chief Clinical Officer at Kooth Plc

“We're thrilled to have been commissioned to ensure the mental wellbeing of young people in the Borders is being looked after. Kooth makes it possible for anyone who is struggling with their mental health to get the help they need by removing any traditional barriers attached to seeking care. It is a safe, confidential platform and we hope that young people will use Kooth to assist them with anything that may be troubling them.”

Henry Jones, Chief Executive Officer at Togetherall

“I’m delighted that we have been given the opportunity to support Borders residents aged 16 and over. It has no doubt been a challenging year for our mental health as a whole and with so many of us impacted by a range of issues and uncertainty about the future, the Togetherall community is here to support anyone who needs help 24/7, 365 days a year.”

Angela Freeman, Service Co-ordinator for Quarriers

“As Covid restrictions are easing, we understand and recognise that young people may continue to have worries and concerns about the pandemic, returning to school and what it means for their future. We are delighted that SBC has made a further commitment to supporting the mental health of the region’s young people both through its continued engagement with our service and now with the commissioning of Kooth and Togetherall.”

More information

The new services are being funded through the Scottish Government’s Community Health and Wellbeing Fund, established to respond to children and young people’s mental health issues, but also to support the family and social network around them. The key aims of the fund are to:

  • set out a clear broad approach for the support that children and young people should be able to access for their mental health and emotional wellbeing within their community
  • assist local children’s services and community planning partnerships with the commissioning and establishment of new local community mental health and wellbeing supports or services or the development of existing supports and services, in with the framework
  • facilitate the enhancement or creation of services that can deliver support which is additional and innovative wherever these are best placed.

More information is available on the Scottish Government website