Mental Health Resources: Youth Resources

Bullying can affect you in many ways. You may lose sleep or feel sick. You may want to skip school. You may even be thinking about suicide. If you are feeling hopeless or helpless or know someone that is, please call the LIFELINE at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) exit disclaimer.

The goal of OK2TALK is to create a community for teens and young adults struggling with mental health problems and encourage them to talk about what they’re experiencing by sharing their personal stories of recovery, tragedy, struggle or hope.

Child Welfare Information Gateway promotes the safety, permanency, and well-being of children, youth, and families.

Children and adolescents involved in the child welfare system can be at greater risk for mental health issues than children in the general population because of histories of child abuse and neglect, separation from biological parents, or placement instability.

The Office of Adolescent Health (OAH) is dedicated to improving the health and well being of adolescents to enable them to become healthy, productive adults.

Important mental health habits—including coping, resilience and good judgment—help adolescents to achieve overall wellbeing and set the stage for positive mental health in adulthood.

The Chair's vision is to help improve the mental health of youth by the effective translation and transfer of scientific knowledge. Our model is to use the best scientific evidence available to develop application-ready training programs, publications, tools and resources that can be applied across disciplines to enhance the understanding of adolescent mental health and mental disorders.

FindYouthInfo.gov is the U.S. government Web site that helps you create, maintain, and strengthen effective youth programs.

Youth Mental Health First Aid is designed to teach parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, school staff, peers, neighbors, health and human services workers, and other caring citizens how to help an adolescent (age 12-18) who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or is in crisis. Youth Mental Health First Aid is primarily designed for adults who regularly interact with young people.

CIT for Youth aims to improve interactions between youth and law enforcement officers by training law enforcement officers and encouraging a community partnership that effectively connects youth with mental health needs to effective services and supports in their community. NAMI’s new CIT for Youth manual provides step-by-step guidance for implementing this program in your community.

AOTA’s School Mental Health Toolkit is a resource for occupational therapy practitioners working with children and youth in school and community settings to obtain specific knowledge about mental health (MH) promotion, prevention, and intervention and to guide service provision. Each information sheet in the toolkit provides an overview of the topic, implications for occupational therapy, and strategies for MH promotion, prevention, and intervention in a variety of settings.

Many lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth are happy and thrive during their adolescent years. Going to a school that creates a safe and supportive learning environment for all students and having caring and accepting parents are especially important. This helps all youth achieve good grades and maintain good mental and physical health. However, some LGBT youth are more likely than their heterosexual peers to experience difficulties in their lives and school environments, such as violence.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2004 directed the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD) and to issue an annual report summarizing all Federal agency activities related to preventing underage alcohol use. HHS made ICCPUD a standing committee to provide ongoing, high-level leadership on this issue and to serve as a mechanism for coordinating Federal efforts aimed at preventing and reducing underage drinking. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) serves as the lead ICCPUD agency.