Kids Help Phone looking at a sharp increase in demand on World Mental Health Day

Kids Help Phone is dealing with a large jump in the amount of young people in need of help and counselling services.

According to the organization, it’s seen a 127 per cent increase since 2010 in telephone counselling alone.

In the last year, the agency dealt with a 29 per cent increase in counselling sessions from young people struggling with mental and emotional health concerns, a 22 per cent increase in counselling sessions from young people with thoughts of suicide, a 29 per cent increase in demand for Live Chat counselling; and a 16 per cent increase in callers aged 17 to 20+ years old who, in general, deal with a far more complex range of issues.

The news comes as officials mark World Mental Health Day on Friday, October 10th.

Kaitlin is a counsellor with the group who prefers to look at the positive side of this surge.

“The dialogue has increased over the last few years, we’re seeing a lot more people call in and talk about the things they’re experiencing,” she said. “A lot of people are either looking for support, or referral and resources outside of their service, within the community.”

She told 660News the increase in demand is a good thing because that means there’s more people out there receiving help.

“We saw that mental health accounts for 29 per cent of our contacts, whether it’s by phone, web or Instant Chat,” she adds. “Mental health is the biggest topic… they may be presenting an initial issue like struggling with what’s happening at home but how their body, how they’re coping with things that they’re dealing with, could also relate to their emotional well-being.”

Every day 58 kids in Alberta call Kids Help Phone with many being returning clients.

Almost half who contact the phone line connect with a counsellor between two to five times.

Anyone in need of help can call 1-800-668-6868 or visit their website.

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