Mental Health Resources For Adolescents and Young Adults
The Mental Health Resources for Adolescents and Young Adults are online resources aimed specifically at adolescents and young adults. Health care providers and youth serving professionals can offer these additional resources or print the PDF one-page reference sheet to adolescents and young adults looking for additional information, including online resources, support groups, peer networks, helplines, treatment locators, and advocacy opportunities.
Youth Friendly Mental Health Online Resources
Apps and Tech Services
Mental Health Resources Institutes
Mental Health Medication Guides
Helplines
Advocacy
Youth Friendly Mental Health Online Resources
- Center for Young Women’s Health and Young Men’s Health: These websites provides a series of guides on emotional health, including on test anxiety, depression, bullying, and eating disorders. www.youngwomenshealth.org and www.youngmenshealthsite.org
- Go Ask Alice!: Geared at young adults, this question and answer website contains a large database of questions about a variety of concerns surrounding emotional health. www.goaskalice.columbia.edu
- Girls Health.Gov: The “Your Feelings” section of this website offers guidance to teenage girls on recognizing a mental health problem, getting help, and talking to parents. http://girlshealth.gov/feelings/index.html
- Jed Foundation: Promoting emotional health and prevent suicide among college students, this website provides an online resource center, ULifeline, a public dialogue forum, Half of Us, and Transition Year, resources and tools to help students transition to college. http://www.jedfoundation.org/students
- Kelty Mental Health Resource Center: Reference sheets are provided that list top websites, books, videos, toolkits and support for mental health disorders. http://keltymentalhealth.ca/youth-and-young-adults
- Reach Out: This website provides information on specific mental health disorders, as well as resources to help teens make safe plans when feeling suicidal, and helpful tips on how to relax. http://au.reachout.com/
- Teens Health: Providing a safe place for teens who need honest and accurate information, this website provides resources on mental health issues. http://teenshealth.org/teen/your_mind/
- Teen Mental Health: Geared towards teenagers, this website provides learning tools on a variety of mental illnesses, videos, and resources for friends. http://teenmentalhealth.org/
Apps and Tech Services
- Beacon 2.0: Beacon is a portal to online applications (websites, mobile applications and internet support groups) for mental disorders reviewed and rated by health experts. https://beacon.anu.edu.au/
- Health Talk: This website reflects the lived experience of mental health conditions, including research-based modules with hours of recording and analysis. www.healthtalk.org/peoples-experiences/mental-health
- Mindfulness for Teens: This website has resources to help teens use mindfulness to handle stress and includes apps to practice meditation and guided mediation recordings. http://mindfulnessforteens.com/
- Strength of Us: An online community designed to inspire young adults impacted by mental health issues to think positive, stay strong and achieve goals through peer support and resource sharing. http://strengthofus.org/
Mental Health Resource Institutes
- American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: This resource center includes videos, ways to get help, and advocacy campaigns. www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Youth_Resources/Home.aspx
- National Alliance on Mental Health: Find resources for youth, including information on managing your mental health in college and making friends. www.nami.org/Find-Support/Teens-and-Young-Adults
- National Institute of Mental Health: This website provides easy-to read guides and brochures to help better understand a variety of mental health disorders. www.nimh.nih.gov/health/index.shtml
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: SAMHSA provides information on mental health services and treatment centers through a service locator. https://findtreatment.samhsa.gov/
Mental Health Medication Guides
- Head Meds: This website gives young people focused information about the most common medicines prescribed for mental health conditions. http://www.headmeds.org.uk/
- Making Healthy Choices: This guide provides information for youth in foster care related to making decisions about their mental health, treatment options, and the use of psychotropic medications. www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/makinghealthychoices/
Helplines
- Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM): Visit www.thecalmzone.net or UK residents call 0800-58-58-58
- Crisis Text Line: Visit www.crisistextline.org/ or Text “START” to 741-741
- List of International Suicide Hotlines: Visit www.suicide.org/international-suicide-hotlines.html
- Love is Respect: Visit www.loveisrespect.org/, text “LOVEIS” to 22522, or call 1-866-331-9474 to talk with a peer advocate to prevent and end abusive relationships
- National Eating Disorder Association: Visit www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/ or call 1-800-931-2237
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline : Visit www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
Advocacy
- Active Minds: The leading nonprofit that empowers college students to speak openly about mental health, Active Minds aims to educate others and encourage help-seeking. http://activeminds.org/
- Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network: GLSEN is the leading national education organization focused on ensuring safe schools for all students. This website provides resources on finding GSA Chapters, and tools on how to establish or re-establish a GSA. http://www.glsen.org/
- StopBullying.Gov: This website offers resources specifically for teens to prevent bullying in their schools and communities and provides resources for those being bullied. http://www.stopbullying.gov/
- Teens Against Bullying: Created by and for teens, this website is a place for middle and high school students to find ways to address bullying, take action, be heard, and own an important social cause. http://www.pacerteensagainstbullying.org/
- Time to Change: As England’s biggest program to challenge mental health stigma and discrimination, this advocacy website provides ways to join the campaign and get others involved. www.time-to-change.org.uk/
