If your child or young person is experiencing a mental health emergency contact your local crisis team [1].
See phone numbers of crisis teams for emergencies at the Manatū Hauora website [1]
Call 111 (in New Zealand) if you, your child or someone else is in an unsafe or life-threatening situation right now. You can also go to your local Emergency Department.
See below for what to do if your child has a mental health emergency.
Going to your family doctor is the best first step. They can give you advice about where to get more help. They may arrange an appointment with a counsellor in the community or a mental health service in your area. These will be services that work with children and young people.
The following organisations provide helpline services and some also offer web chat, text and email services.
Youthline offers a free 24/7 helpline service.
Free call 0800 37 66 33, free text 234 or email talk@youthline.co.nz [2].
Youthline also offers free face-to-face counselling services. Find out more, or chat via webchat, on the Youthline website [3].
The Low Down helps young New Zealanders with depression and anxiety.
Free call 0800 111 757 or text 5626.
Young people can also email The Low Down at team@thelowdown.co.nz [4] or webchat with someone via its website [5].
Whatsup? [6]Is for young people aged between 5 and 18. Phone counselling is available between 11am-11pm every day of the year. Online chat is available between 11am–10:30pm 7 days a week, including all public holidays.
SPARX [7] is a self-help e-therapy tool for rangatahi aged between 12 and 19. It also has a helpline. Call 0508 4 SPARX (0508 477 279) or free text 3110.
1737 [8]is a free national counselling service. Call or text 1737 any time for support from a trained counsellor or peer support worker.
If you, or someone you know, may be thinking about suicide, call the Suicide Crisis Line for support from a trained counsellor. Contact them on 0508 TAUTOKO (0508 828 865). The Suicide Crisis Line [9] is a free, nationwide service available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
OUTLine NZ [10] is an all-ages rainbow mental health organisation. It offers a free peer support phone line, a transgender peer support service for trans and non-binary people in Auckland, and specialist face-to-face and video counselling exploring gender and sexuality for rainbow people across Aotearoa.
People can call 0800 OUTLINE (0800 688 5463) any evening between 6pm and 9pm to talk to a trained volunteer from the LGBTIQ+ community.
Find more support services in New Zealand on the Mental Health Foundation's website [11].
If someone has attempted suicide or you’re worried about their immediate safety, do the following:
See phone numbers of crisis teams for emergencies at the Manatū Hauora website [1]
Find out more about anxiety [12]
Find out more about depression [13]
Get parenting support for your child’s emotions and behaviour [14]
See KidsHealth's section on emotional and mental wellbeing [15]
This page last reviewed 26 June 2022.
Email us [16] your feedback
Links
[1] https://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/services-and-support/health-care-services/mental-health-services/crisis-assessment-teams
[2] mailto:talk@youthline.co.nz
[3] https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youthline.co.nz%2F&data=05%7C01%7C%7Ced9d730706e44f92700f08da48c6d726%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637902316187491706%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=LbRaN4U350mmfrSS4VNe7dCVWKRcpO6rGxobRxlqX1g%3D&reserved=0
[4] mailto:team@thelowdown.co.nz
[5] https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thelowdown.co.nz%2F&data=05%7C01%7C%7Ced9d730706e44f92700f08da48c6d726%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637902316187491706%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=w8Q%2FNw65L6YCWCGsOGC%2Fs4ciXlGghkG%2BvxCc4zhYMsk%3D&reserved=0
[6] https://whatsup.co.nz/
[7] https://www.sparx.org.nz/home
[8] https://1737.org.nz/
[9] https://www.lifeline.org.nz/services/suicide-crisis-helpline
[10] https://outline.org.nz/
[11] https://mentalhealth.org.nz/helplines
[12] https://kidshealth.org.nz/anxiety
[13] https://kidshealth.org.nz/depression
[14] https://kidshealth.org.nz/parenting-support-your-childs-emotions-behaviour
[15] https://kidshealth.org.nz/tags/emotional-mental-wellbeing
[16] https://kidshealth.org.nz/contact?from=http%3A%2F%2Fkidshealth.org.nz%2Fprint%2F2712%3Flanguage%3Den