Local Offer - Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Services

We would like to remind you of the availability of an online service to support the wellbeing and resilience of young people.

Kooth is a web based confidential support service available to young people. Kooth provides a safe and secure means of accessing mental health and wellbeing support designed specifically for young people.

Kooth offers young people the opportunity to have a text based conversation with a qualified counsellor. Counsellors are available from 12.00pm to 10.00pm on weekdays and 6.00pm to 10.00pm at weekends, every day of the year on a drop in basis. Young people can access regular booked online counselling sessions as needed. Outside of counselling young people can message the team and get support the next day.

When young people register with Kooth they will have support available to them now and in the future. Support can be gained not only through counselling but articles, forums and discussion boards. This includes information about current affairs. All content is age appropriate, clinically approved and fully moderated.

You can also view a short video about their service.

• SOLAR - Solihull’s Emotional Wellbeing and Mental health service for children and young people

Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Barnardo’s and Autism West Midlands work together to provide emotional wellbeing and mental health services for children and young people in Solihull. They provide multi disciplinary assessment and treatment of children and young people with mental health or severe emotional and behavioural difficulties.

• Visit the Social, Emotional and Mental Health Team - Parents Information

This Situational Mutism (SM) Information Pack was co produced following feedback from Birmingham and Solihull parents and carers that there was little information about how to get support for children, young people and young adults with Situational Mutism.

This pack includes:

• information about Situational Mutism and how it presents
• feedback from young people on their experience of SM
• advice and guidance for professionals, and parents and carers
• signposting to resources for young people, professionals, and parent and carers

Situational Mutism Information Pack

The transformation of children and young people’s mental health is led by local areas. This means that children, young people, their families and professionals from across the NHS, public health, local authorities, children services, education, youth justice and voluntary and community organisations are working together to co-design and provide the best possible services.

We continue to work together to challenge the stigma around mental health and to improve access for all our communities. We have seen unprecedented demands for increased support during and continuing since the pandemic. The pandemic has also impacted on our workforce and it continues to do so. Our workforce has time and time again demonstrated a commitment and passion for the work they do. They have adapted how and when they work, they have developed new skills to ensure they continue to support our children, young people and their families.

Our plans set out what we will do over the next two years, including reducing waiting lists and improving access through digital innovation and an expanding workforce. Our plans also set out how local services will respond and evolve and invest resources to improve children and young people’s mental health across the “whole system”.

In line with NHS England requirements, we are publishing our Birmingham and Solihull children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing local transformation plans for 2022/23 here:

• Birmingham children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing local transformation plan 2022/2023
• Solihull children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing local transformation plan 2022/2023