DEPRESSED teenagers will get the chance to talk about anything from bullying and bereavement to sexual identity and depression with the launch of a counselling service in Trowbridge.

Relate Mid Wiltshire has been awarded funding from Connexions to run Talk Zone, an out-of-school service for young people.

The service has already been launched in Chippenham but will be extended to include Trowbridge, Devizes and Tidworth thanks to the extra funding. Connexions Wiltshire and Swindon invited voluntary and community groups from across the county to bid for a share of £60,000 in August.

In February the Wiltshire Times reported soaring depression rates among children as young as 11 were overloading counselling sessions in Trowbridge's secondary schools.

Clarendon College headteacher Colin Kay said he was concerned about a marked rise in self-harm and depression rates among students.

Talk Zone is a self-referral service, providing counselling sessions outside school, with people attending one session a week for an average of up to six weeks.

Relate has been running advice sessions in schools for the past five years but the demand has far outstripped supply.

Youth counselling manager Pamela Walden Woods said: "We have found that some young people do not want to be seen in schools.

"In school the teacher and the headteacher and often the young person's peers, know about the sessions, whereas Talk Zone, although equally confidential, allows the young person to access support in private away from school.

"The aim is to help improve the resilience of young people who are facing problems and emotional difficulties."

Ten groups were awarded cash, including Relate, North Wiltshire Citizens Advice Bureau and Girlguiding Wiltshire North.

The North Wiltshire CAB will use the money to set up a text message-based homelessness advice service, while the Girlguiding group will buy extra equipment for overnight hikes, abseiling and weekend camps.

The Reachout Project, based in Chippenham and Calne, also received cash to fund video and training workshops for young people with substance misuse problems.

Doreen Taylor, acting chief executive at Connexions Wiltshire and Swindon, said: "Voluntary and community groups work tirelessly for the benefit of the disadvantaged and less privileged members of the community, and often have trouble in obtaining funding."