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Referrals double during Covid-19 pandemic for mental health service that helps young people in West Lothian
Sign up to the weekly West Lothian Courier newsletter for the latest West Lothian news and sport.A local counselling service for young people has reported referrals for their service have increased drastically during the Covid-19 pandemic.SMILE counselling from Bathgate told The Courier that they have had a 130 per cent increase in referrals since March last year.In addition one in four of their referrals from under 16 year olds are now presenting with suicidal thoughts, whereas the year previous it was one in five.Declan Harrigan, the CEO, says the funding they received recently from West Lothian Council’s Third Sector Fund is crucial.The charity are now aiming to offer a unique mobile mental health service in the community and offer