Chat with a counsellor online from 10am - 10pm.
Please note: You will be asked to text a code to 234 to fully access this service.

Chat Now

This service is available for any young person in New Zealand, or anyone who is supporting a young person. When you first are connected, a counsellor will message you a code and ask you to text it to 234. This is to verify you’re located New Zealand to ensure our service remains open to all New Zealanders. Once you have done this, you are welcome to continue accessing the service whenever you wish within our operating hours.

We are happy to chat with parents, grandparents, friends, whānau, teachers, coaches and more. Being supported as the support person is incredibly important. 
 
At times we experience quite a high volume of contacts, and there may be limited counsellors available. We are actively working towards increasing the number of counsellors operating Web Chat. If you find there are no counsellors available feel free to try one of our other services or try again later.

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 chat, 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 chat. People use web chat 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 chat with Youthline?

Our counsellors provide chat services from 10am - 10pm, 7 days a week. 

Before you begin, you will need to text in a verification code. This helps us to confirm that you’re based in New Zealand.

What do I do if I can't get through? 

If you are not connected immediately, this is because all our counsellors are chatting with other young people. We really appreciate your patience. 

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 connect 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 schedule a chat session? 

Each day we have a lot of young people who contact us, so we work to make sure we can answer as many of them as possible. We can't currently schedule chat sessions, 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.