Kooth – Online counselling – should we be concerned?

Dr Helen Thomas writes that last month saw concerns raised about the use of Kooth by parents. The concerns were about the security of the online counselling site and the use of Kooth in PHSE lessons at some schools. 

The issues around the security were that anyone was able to log on. “Anyone” could make a profile and then post in forums. Indeed, one parent said they had made a profile, no one had checked their details or age and then they wrote in a forum. This obviously raised concerns that an adult may be posing as a child, with the risks around grooming and coercion in mind. 

Secondly, some parents thought that schools using Kooth as a wellbeing aid in PHSE lessons was unacceptable. That really, in person lessons, focusing on real life problem solving and communication were required, not being pushed further online. 

Having worked with Kooth previously, I reached out to ask them to help explain these concerns. 

Kooth responded incredibly professionally. I received a written response within a couple of days which was thorough and offered a virtual meeting to discuss things further. A week later, due to my schedule, I met with Tom Strannix, the head of safeguarding at Kooth to discuss the concerns further. Tom listened to the concerns I shared from parents and was then able to talk me through the online join up process, the safety and vetting features that Kooth use as well as why limited information is taken from people signing up. 

Kooth is an online and NHS approved, text-based counselling and support service. In order for the young people who chose to use it, to feel anonymous and safe, Kooth only asks for very limited personal data. This means that no personal data is stored or could be used detrimentally. In terms of how that looks to an adult signing up, Tom went on to reassure me that every interaction is vetted before it is posted by a trained professional. All posts on all forums go through a rigorous check to ensure there is nothing that could be harmful, hurtful or coercive. There are no private chat functions, and no personal information can be shared through the forums. The online counselling service is run by trained, human, counsellors. They are available between 12pm – 10pm Monday – Friday and 6pm – 10pm over the weekends. Kooth identified these are the most useful times, out of school hours and the times that many young people feel isolated and anxious. 

Kooth has around 8 million 10-25 year old using it’s services in the UK. There have been no security or data breaches and they are fully signed up to the Online Safety Act to further protect vulnerable young users. In a climate where so many of our young people are online, Kooth is offering a quick, anonymous and secure platform to support our young people. 

The second concern was a little harder to navigate, as the responsibility of this issue doesn’t really lie with Kooth. How schools chose to run their PHSE programmes is ultimately at each school’s discretion. There is a clear syllabus with guidelines on delivery which need to be followed. Part of that is to support young people as they learn about mental health, and how they can become more resilient. Kooth is aligned with the NHS Thrive programme and offers online wellbeing courses, online journalling as well as talking to counsellors and participating in community forums. This fits the bill for a lot of what schools need to offer and so it is understandable that some schools may choose to use parts of Kooth to support their lessons. Ideally, many parents would like to see in person sessions, especially if their child needs counselling but the reality is that these services are overwhelmed with huge waiting lists. There is a place for virtual counselling in delivering the right service at the right time to the person in need.

At Health Professionals for Safer Screens we continue to work passionately in reducing the harm from inappropriate screen use. Technology and screens should be considered tools rather than entertainment, so as part of a toolkit for our young people, online services do have a place. 

Tom, and the wider team at Kooth took the time to listen and respond fully to the concerns that were raised. Their approach to child safety online is thorough and their support for our young people is needed. In addition, Kooth have agreed to work with Health Professionals for Safer Screen and our HPFSS resources will be available nationally on their resources pages.