WEE COUNTY kids are being encouraged to get creative on social media in a bid to raise awareness of a text-based mental health charity.

Clackmannanshire Educational Psychology Service (Clacks EPS) has asked young people to help share information about Shout 85258 by creating Instagram Reels and TikToks.

Clacks EPS has recently partnered with the intervention service to offer support to children and young adults across the county.

The short videos could include why or when people may use the service, why it's okay to talk about your mental health and ways to ask for help.

Two prizes of £25 in gift vouchers will be awarded for the most creative post and for the post with the highest number of hits that the @ClacksEPS social media account is tagged in.

Whitney Barrett, principal educational psychologist at Clacks EPS, said: "People need to feel that the services they're accessing are local to them. They need to have an understanding of the local area.

"That's why we want young people within the community to shape the delivery of these services alongside us."

Clacks EPS educational psychologist Lesley Taylor created one TikTok video that received mixed feedback from school pupils.

"That's when we realised that we needed to get the young people directly involved with the project," she added.

"We're looking for content, tailored to a younger audience, presented in a way that is much more age-appropriate than what I'd attempted to do."

Shout is used most widely by young people, with 65 per cent of its users aged under 25 and more than a third of those who text never reaching out for help about their mental health.

The free 24/7 service offers a silent and anonymous way to reach out for help with feelings such as anxiety, bullying, suicidal thoughts and self-harm.

Lesley continued: "With this creative brief, we want to raise awareness and make sure that people know that this service is out there.

"The main driver of our wider project is to reduce stigma and make it okay to talk about mental health and wellbeing for young people.

"We hope to raise the conversation across Clackmannanshire about mental health and about it being okay to seek support as and when you need it."

We previously reported on two other digital services that have been commissioned by Clackmannanshire Council to offer support to young people, including Mind Moose and Togetherall.

Whitney stressed that there is "no one-size-fits-all" approach to mental health support services, as people will seek help at different stages in different ways.

She added: "It's not one person or one service that will be able to improve mental health and wellbeing; it's got to be a united, joint effort.

"We want to bring about real and meaningful change, but that can only happen if everybody's part of shaping the change. That's what we're trying to do."

If you need support, text CLACKS to 85258 to be connected to a trained volunteer or visit giveusashout.org.