You can call us for free at any time: 0800 37 66 33.
This service is available for any young person in New Zealand, or anyone who is supporting a young person. We are happy to chat with parents, grandparents, friends, whānau, teachers, coaches and more. Being supported as the support person is incredibly important. When you phone, we try to make sure you are answered by a counsellor from the centre nearest to you. They will introduce themselves and ask you a little about yourself and how they can help. You can say anything you want in confidence and there will not be any comeback. In fact, you don't even need to use your own name. If you are in a difficult position they may ask you how they can help and may offer some ideas, but it is not for them to make judgments or tell you what to do. They will work things out with you, not for you. Sometimes working through a problem might take more than one phone call, and that is okay. Our team will not judge or criticise you, or tell you what to do. You might be asked how you are feeling and be invited to talk about your feelings. We try to provide a comfortable and accepting experience to give you the time and space that you need to talk if you want to. You do not have to be in a crisis situation to ring. People call for all sorts of reasons; because they feel alone, or because they lost someone they care for, others because they are having difficulties making their relationships work. |
What time can I call Youthline?
Phone counselling is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
What do I do if I can't get through?
If you call us and you aren’t able to get through to a counsellor, this may be because all our counsellors are on calls assisting other young people. Making sure you get to talk to someone is really important to us though, so you will hear a message giving you some other options.
If you are in crisis and need emergency assistance, please hang up and dial 111 (NZ) or 999 or 998 (Cook Islands). Are you confidential?
Everything you say is confidential within Youthline. We do not pass information based on what you tell us to any external organisations or family members except in dangerous situations where we are concerned that there is a high risk that you or someone else might be harmed. In these situations we will attempt to work with you first to do this.
If i call again, will i get the same person i spoke with last time?
Not necessarily. We have hundreds of counsellors across the country who do varying shifts from month to month, so most of the time you will talk to someone different.
Can i ask someone at youthline to call me back?
Each day we have a lot of young people who contact us, so we work to make sure we can answer as many calls as possible. We don’t call people back, however our counsellors can help you find services in your area if you would like some ongoing support.
will my conversation be recorded?
Our counsellors collect basic information like gender, age, ethnicity (if you choose to tell us) and the general issues that people contact us about, e.g. ‘relationships’ or ‘school’. We collect this information so that we can better understand what is going for young people across the country and can make sure our counsellors have the resources they need to best support you.
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