Teens Mental Health Resources

Talk to a trained teen listener who truly understands — under clinical supervision.

For LGBTQ+ young people who need a safer space to simply exist and be seen — a moderated online community where you can make friends and find affirmation that's hard to find elsewhere.

Coming out, family stress, bullying, figuring out who you are — these conversations deserve to be had with someone who truly understands, without explanation or apology.

Built for teenagers by a clinical psychologist — it explains what anxiety is actually doing to you, then gives you things to try. $1.99 on iPhone. From a UK charity, so the 'where to get help' info inside won't apply here.

Search therapists near you and see what actually matters before you reach out — who is accepting clients, when their next opening is, and what it costs, including with your insurance. Message someone or book a free intro call without making an account. Every provider goes through a license check, and most people hear back within a day.

When low mood makes everything feel like too much effort, this works on the doing rather than the thinking — small tasks, built up over time. Free, completely anonymous, and it doesn't collect anything identifiable. Made by a UK teen mental health charity, so the 'where to get help' info inside won't apply here.

If someone in your house drinks and it is shaping your whole life, Alateen is other teens in the same spot, in person, on video, or through the app. Free, ages 13 to 18, and it is specifically not about your drinking, it is about theirs.

Young People in Recovery is a free, peer led community built by and for people building a life after substance use, with chapters and virtual meetings across the country and a Spanish speaking track. It is open to teens fourteen and up, though most of what you see on the site, the photos, the merch, the language, is aimed at people in their twenties, so a fourteen or fifteen year old might feel like the youngest one in the room. There is no fee and no account needed to find a meeting or show up, only a chapter to pick. This is a space for your own recovery, not for supporting a parent or a sibling through theirs.

Worksheets rather than chapters, catching the thought that spirals, testing whether it is actually true, and practicing the thing that helps before you need it. Written for 13 to 17 specifically, which is rarer than it sounds.

Started by a teenager who went through her own depression and anxiety, now grown into a well reviewed Gen Z mental health podcast with real interviews and a heavy dose of practical DBT skills. Free on every podcast app, no account needed, and new episodes come out regularly rather than in occasional bursts. It speaks to teens the way a peer would, not a clinical pamphlet, though it is not a substitute for therapy or a crisis line if things get more serious.

A free national locator for grief groups and camps built for young people, filterable by where you are, how old you are, what language you need, and whether it is free. It is a finder, not a service, so the next step is contacting whoever comes up near you.

Maps your own anger, what sets it off, what your body does first, what you do next, so you can catch the pattern instead of being told to calm down. Activity-based, built on ACT and CBT, written for 13 to 17.

For the kind of loss adults tend to wave off, nine skills for getting through a breakup, drawn from CBT and DBT, plus how to spot when a relationship was not good for you in the first place. Written for teens through about nineteen.

The PTSD Workbook for Teens is written directly to you if flashbacks, nightmares, or a constant sense of danger have followed you since something traumatic happened. It walks through cognitive behavioral exercises step by step, on paper, so it works like a workbook you fill in rather than something you just read. It costs about twenty two dollars in paperback or twelve dollars as an ebook, no account or subscription needed beyond owning the book. It is not a crisis tool and does not replace a therapist, though it works well alongside one.

A journal rather than a book to read, pages to write on for a teen who processes better in private than out loud. Revised in 2023, which means people are still finding it useful thirty years on. Also available in Spanish.

The PTSD Survival Guide for Teens was written by a trauma specialist and her own teen daughter, and it reads like it, practical skills for flashbacks, nightmares, and shaken trust in other people rather than a clinical lecture. It mixes cognitive behavioral, dialectical behavior, and acceptance based techniques into short, workable sections. The paperback is currently out of print, so the real option right now is the ebook at about eleven dollars, no account needed beyond the purchase. It is not a crisis line and will not replace a therapist, but it gives you something concrete to do between now and finding one.

Tweak is an account by Nic Sheff of his own meth and heroin addiction as a teenager, told in his own voice, not by a parent or a counselor. It is a paid paperback, about fifteen dollars, with no membership or account needed beyond buying or borrowing a copy. It does not soften what addiction actually looked like for him, so expect a hard and sometimes graphic read, not a gentle one. If you want to read someone your own age describe what it was actually like from inside it, this is that book.

Short, direct, and unsentimental about losing someone you love, no adult softening it, no pretending it is fine. Grollman spent a career writing about grief and this is the one he wrote for teenagers.

24/7 support that affirms LGBTQ+ young people at their most vulnerable.

Text STEVE to 741741 for a counselor who understands what racialized stress actually feels like — built on the belief that young people of color deserve support that sees race, identity, and daily pressure as connected, not separate problems.

Love Is Respect offers 24/7 crisis support — call, chat, or text LOVEIS to 22522 — for teens and young adults navigating dating stress, abuse, consent, and breakups, with a full Spanish-language site at espanol.loveisrespect.org.

Free anonymous chat with a trained volunteer listener, any hour — you'll need to make an account first. They also have an AI chatbot and paid therapy; the free human chat is the part worth knowing about.

Free, virtual therapy for teenagers in New York City. Teens ages 13 to 17 who live in the city can message a licensed therapist any time and have one live session a month. The program website is available in Spanish, so ask about therapist languages when you sign up. The program page says it will run through November 2026.

Day or night, in the language that feels most like home.

Dial 988, press 1, or text 838255 — responders trained specifically in military culture, 24/7.

Peer support run by trans people, for trans and questioning people — full anonymity, no non-consensual active rescue. Hours vary by region and it's weekdays only, so check before you call.

Curated therapists offering sessions starting around $30 — good care should not only belong to those who can afford it.

The most comprehensive therapist directory in the country — filter by insurance, specialty, location, and sliding scale fees. If you're starting your search for a therapist, this is the place to start.

The VA built this specifically for veterans working through PTSD — grounding skills, symptom tracking, and crisis links, all in your pocket.

A therapist-search tool built around actually being understood — filter by specialty, language, faith, identity, and approach to find someone who already gets where you're coming from.

There's a kind of relief that comes from sitting across from someone who doesn't need everything explained — this helps you find a provider whose lived experience brings them closer to yours.

NAMI keeps a state-by-state directory of warmlines — a starting point for finding one near you, not a checked list, so confirm the number and hours on the warmline's own page before you call. Sometimes you don't need a crisis line. You just need someone to talk to.

Someone knowledgeable on the other end — real answers about conditions, treatment, and helping a loved one.

A therapist directory built to help you actually find the right fit — filter by specialty, identity, approach, and more, from anxiety and addiction to relationships and trauma.

Trained support specialists, free and confidential, 24/7 in English and Spanish, by phone or text (HOPE to 64673) — you don't have to say what happened to get help.