Moray Council has begun the search for an agency to run counselling services in schools.
The Scottish Government has committed funding to local authorities to provide emotional, behavioural and mental health support for youngsters.
Now Moray Council has begun the process to award an £810,000 three-year contract to an agency to run the services, which will also be available during school holidays.
Information published online from the authority explained the counselling would be made available for students between 10 and 18 years old.
It adds: “The council is seeking to appoint an external service provider that is experienced and appropriately qualified to implement and deliver a counselling service for children and young people that is embedded within a whole system approach to supporting mental health and wellbeing, including whole school and early intervention approaches.
“The counselling service will be a universally accessible service and should be available to secondary school pupils, primarily, and pupils aged 10 and over in our primary schools.
“The service should complement the range of whole-school and targeted approaches already available in schools to help support the mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing of children and young people.”
Last year the Scottish Government announced it was awarding £60million to councils across the country to run services for four years.
At the time, mental health minister Clare Haughey said: “Children and young people can face many issues growing up and must have the right support available at the right time.
“Providing every secondary school with access to at least one counsellor by next year is a significant step forward in our package of measures to improve the mental health support available for children and young people.”