THE NSPCC’s Childline service has been available to children and young people since 1986 and is there whenever they need someone to speak to, listen to or offer support.

Since Childline launched, more than 5.5 million counselling sessions have taken place with young people who felt they have nowhere else to turn.

In that time we have noticed that many more girls tend to contact our counsellors than boys. Last week Childline released new figures showing that in 2020/21, they carried out 31,899 counselling sessions with girls about mental health issues compared to 5,622 with boys.

When it came to counselling sessions about suicidal thoughts and feelings the numbers are even more slanted with 11,719 counselling sessions for girls but just 1,592 for boys.

That’s a huge difference - especially concerning when considered alongside latest national data for registered deaths in England and Wales, which showed 122 boys aged 10-19 died by suicide last year. That is more than double the number of girls who took their life in the same period.

Sadly, some people still believe boys just need to ‘man up’ and get on with their lives, no matter how they’re feeling.

One 18-year-old male told Childline: “I’m worried because I feel so depressed all the time and have been thinking about suicide more lately. I confided in someone at work that I wasn’t doing well mentally, and they didn’t reply to my message. I feel embarrassed about telling them how I was feeling.”

We know how hard it can be for children to speak out about their mental health, but it’s important to remind all children that sharing their concerns with a trusted adult or a Childline counsellor can enable them to get the support they need.

That’s why we have launched the We All Feel It campaign, to support young people especially males who are struggling to reach out for mental health support.

We want young people to know that help is available and there will always be someone here at Childline who will listen to them without judgement whenever they’re ready to take that first step.

Talking about mental health issues early on can prevent things escalating and can even save a young person’s life. We hope that by putting the spotlight on male mental health we can help boys understand that they are not alone.

Part of the campaign includes a video featuring popular clips from sport, social media and gaming, which encourages boys in particular to use Childline to help them make sense of anything that has upset or worried them. Help is available at childline.org.uk or on 0800 1111.

  • Debra Radford is the assistant director for the NSPCC in the North East