Youths reach breaking point before seeking counselling
By LLOYD JONES
Growing numbers of young people are reaching breaking point before seeking counselling, often due to the perceived stigma around asking for help.
A 2025 impact report by the Kids Helpline says crisis interventions have more than tripled over the past seven years.
A Kids Helpline crisis intervention involves a professional counsellor contacting emergency services or child protection authorities when a young person is deemed to be at immediate risk of harm.
Yourtown CEO Tracy Adams explains the importance of Kids Helpline.
The service responded to 5190 crisis interventions in 2025, an increase of 350 per cent since 2018.
The report also found First Nations young people represented nine per cent of all contacts to the service in 2025, a figure that is more than double their proportion of the Australian population.
Kids Helpline is Australia’s only free 24/7 nationwide support service specifically for children and young people aged five to 25 years, offering self-help resources and confidential phone and online counselling.
Significant distress
Tracy Adams, the CEO of yourtown which runs Kids Helpline, said behind every crisis intervention was a young person in significant distress.
“We want young people to know they don’t have to wait until they are in crisis to ask for help,” she said.
“We know at Kids Helpline that stigma remains one of the biggest barriers stopping young people from reaching out to the service.
“They worry about being judged, dismissed or becoming a burden if they speak up about what they’re feeling.”
Many children find it safer to type about their concerns when seeking help. (Dean Lewins/AAP PHOTOS)
The report showed webchat contacts were now the primary way young people reached out to seek help, rather than phone counselling.
“For many, typing feels safer than speaking, particularly when discussing sensitive issues, when privacy is limited, or when they’re reaching out late at night,” Ms Adams said.
A webchat contact took 13 minutes longer on average than a phone contact, meaning the service needed more resources and online counsellors, she said.
Kids Helpline is seeking increased funding from federal, state and territory governments as it meets new demands.
The report revealed one in three Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people reported thoughts of suicide in 2025.
Lifeline 13 11 14
Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for people aged 5 to 25)
13YARN 13 92 76
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