Childline support for mental health problems on the rise

The children's charity said the helpline provided 85,000 counselling sessions for young people with mental health-related concerns - equal to one every six minutes.

This compares with 24,000 counselling sessions related to mental health during 2013/14.

Counsellors help young people suffering from unhappiness, suicidal thoughts, low self-esteem and diagnosed mental health disorders such as bipolar.

ChildLine's annual report reveals that more than 5,000 cases involved children who also sought help for sexual or physical abuse - the equivalent of nearly 100 contacts a week.

Meanwhile, the number reporting unhappiness and low self-esteem issues rose by 9 per cent to 35,244.

And those troubled by anxiety almost trebled to 8,642.

However the overall number of counselling sessions provided by ChildLine is in decline.

In 2014/15 the helpline provided 276,956 counselling sessions, compared with 290,979 in 2013/14 - a 4.8 per cent decrease.

The 2014/15 figure represents a 14.9 per cent decrease on the total for 2011/12 of 325,471 counselling sessions.

The NSPCC said the lack of mental health services for children, and the fact they are often waiting until "crisis point" to discuss their concerns could lay the foundations for long-term mental health problems.

Peter Wanless, NSPCC chief executive, said: "The road to recovery from abuse is long and often children are crying out to ChildLine because they have no one else left to turn to.

"Thousands of vulnerable children - many of whom have been abused - are silently coping with serious issues that leave them racked with worry when instead they should be getting help to rebuild their childhoods.

"We risk failing a generation of children if we leave them without the vital support they need to recover.

ChildLine founder Esther Rantzen said: "Many of today's children feel utterly miserable - for some, they feel that life is not worth living.

"We need more help and support for young people. We must give them a chance to tell us what is in their hearts."