Ask Sam letter

Hello,

Thank you for your letter.

I can hear that you’re not sure if you should contact ChildLine to talk to one of our counsellors. I’m really glad that you decided to write to me.

Talking about something that's happening in your life and how it makes you feel can be difficult, but it’s the right thing to do. It could be something big or something small. Whatever it is, it can really help to talk to someone instead of keeping things bottled up inside.

There are counsellors at ChildLine all through the day and night and you can call us on 0800 1111 at any time. We understand that you might not be sure what to say at the start and the counsellor will give you as much time as possible and try to help you work things out.

It might help to think about what you’d like to talk about before you speak to a counsellor. You could even write it down. It’s important to remember that you’re always in control of what you say. If you’re struggling to think of what to say then it can help to begin by telling us how you’re feeling and then we can talk about what might be behind those feelings.

The counsellor may ask questions to try to get a better understanding but you don’t have to tell us anything you don’t feel ready to say. Some people like to stay silent for their first few calls to us – just to see what it’s like. We don’t mind when people do this if it helps you to talk later on.

If talking on the phone is worrying you then you can talk to us in a 1-2-1 online chat or by sending an email through your ChildLine account. Our counsellors can support you in both of those ways and we don’t mind how you choose to talk to us.

You think your mum will be angry if she finds out that you speak to a counsellor so it’s good to remember that calls are free and confidential. The number won’t show up on the telephone bill. ChildLine wouldn’t tell your mum that you’ve spoken to us – in fact we don’t tell anyone what you say except in very few special cases, such as if we think your life is in danger.

It might be helpful to look at our page that has information about hiding your visits to ChildLine on the computer and our confidentiality policy which talks about what we can’t keep between you and us.

You can watch this short video too - this can help you understand what it's like to get in touch with ChildLine.

I hope we hear from you again when you’re ready.

Take care,
Sam