People of all ages everywhere struggle with stress. But the rapid pace of life, and its many pressures are particularly hard on young people who are just starting to find their way.
In 2003, Lindfield Rotary became aware that an increasing number of young people in Ku-ring-gai were struggling with mental health issues, including the stigma associated with it. Sadly, there weren’t any local services available to help these young people. Lindfield Rotary raised the funds and partnered with Ku-ring-gai Council to establish KYDS – a free, local, and confidential counselling service for children and young people.
On 31 March 2005 KYDS opened its doors with one counsellor, who operated at the library in Lindfield. KYDS supported 36 young people in its first year. Over the following 15 years, many other parts of the community also provided support to KYDS allowing it to grow and meet increasing demand.
Today, a team of 18 passionate and qualified mental health professionals support young people to work through their challenges and to help them to achieve their potential. Over the past year, we provided 5462 counselling sessions to more than 400 young people. KYDS help young people understand, and manage, difficult issues in their lives.
We do this by providing easily accessed, personalised counselling and mental health support services, family counselling, and early intervention wellbeing workshops and information events.
We ensure issues such as grief, loss, family breakups, friendship problems, school and study stress, addictions, risky behaviour, anger, bullying, anxiety, depression, alcohol and drug use, body image concerns, mental health concerns, self-harm and suicidal thoughts do not overwhelm young people.
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Services Offered
We provide barrier-free, easily accessed counselling, provided by approachable, non-judgmental professionals. No formal referrals from doctors or school staff are needed to see us.
We are a free service and we will work with you for as long as you need.
We’re here to help you with anything! Things like your relationships, school, work, family and friends, as well as mental health difficulties such as depression, anxiety and trauma. No problem is too big or too small, talking helps, we are here for you.
Fees and Payment
All services are free of charge.
Services Offered To: Adults Teens
Payment: Sliding Scale Pro-bono
Online Counseling: Yes
If You Call, Please Let Us Know How it Went:
Were You Able to Make an Appointment?
One quick last question. Who was seeking counseling today?
Do you know the reason they are not accepting clients?
A community counseling agency is a group therapy practice that offers affordable mental health services. Most are independent non-profit agencies, state agencies, or publicly-funded agencies. A few may restrict who is eligible for services, so it is a good idea to check when you call.
Community counseling agencies are generally more affordable than other therapy providers, but how much more affordable they are will depend on whether you qualify for a discount or sliding scale fee (or if they accept your insurance). Many, but not all, have a policy that they won't turn away anyone due to inability to pay. You should ask about their fees when you first call.
Expect to talk to kind people who want to help you find the care you need. Most community agencies strive to connect you with a live person within 24 hours, if not immediately. If you're asked to hold or leave a message, don't give up; just leave a message and wait. You should hear back pretty quickly.
Most agencies try to set up an initial assessment appointment within a week (some do within 24 hours), though the waitlist to start therapy is usually longer—about a few weeks on average. If you're not eligible or if the agency is not right for you, it's usually still worth it to call or drop in, because staff are knowledgeable about local options and can often refer you to one.