Teen and Young Adult Resources

Like physical health, our mental health is also important for our wellness. Mental health conditions like clinical anxiety, depression and other diagnoses are treatable medical conditions. When you find treatment early, you will be able to do better at school and work. Here are some common symptoms that maybe signs of deteriorating mental health. Don’t hesitate to seek help from a trusted adult who could be your family member, primary care physician or your school counselor to get back on your feet.

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The County of Santa Clara’s Mental Health Guide for Teens is meant to help teens learn basic mental health and wellness concepts. With interactive exercises, this guide can help to start impactful conversations among peers.

Mental Health Guide (English)

Mental Health Guide (Spanish)

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Mental health conditions develop for complicated reasons that researchers are only just beginning to understand. While the causes are still being studied, we do know a lot about how you can manage your mental health symptoms so that you can live well.

Due to the lack of early intervention services and stigma surrounding mental health treatment, young people often do not reach our health social service or justice systems until their mental health problems have become more severe, and often more difficult and costly to treat. Many people suffer with symptoms for 8-10 years before seeking treatment. Early intervention reduces recovery time and increases your ability to effectively manage your symptoms.

It’s important to speak up and ask for help so that you can start your recovery today. Here are some helpful tips on how to start a conversation with someone you trust and how to communicate with your mental health professional. Click on images below for details.

Looking for in-person support?

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Your parents may find it difficult to understand and/or accept that you are having troubling mental health symptoms. Learning how to speak to them so that they can hear you and providing them with sources of education about mental health can help bridge this communication gap. Having family support can have a powerful, positive effect on your mental health. Parents can be trained to become your persuasive, influential advocates.

Some youth have reported that it was helpful to share stories of other people with mental health conditions with their parents. The Stories of Hope section above has links to stories that you can share with your family to help them understand what you are going through.

You may also consider talking to a school counselor or another trusted adult and asking that person to accompany you when you talk to your parents. Having an adult to assist with advocating for your needs may help your parents take your concerns seriously.

1. Tips for Talking to Your Parents

• Time to Talk: Talking to Your Parents from Mental Health America
• How to Talk to Your Parents About Mental Health and Getting Help from Harley Therapy

2. Encourage your family to take one of NAMI’s Family Education Classes.

NAMI offers educations classes that will help your family understand your mental health condition. Many people find that their families become more empathetic advocates as a result of these classes.

• NAMI Basics is for parents of youth under 18
• Family to Family is for your family if you are over 18

3. Your family members can call our Helpline at 408-453-0400, x1 to find out more or sign up.

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With 50% of young people reporting that they have experienced symptoms of a mental health condition, you are likely to be friends with someone who is struggling. The good news is that there are many resources to assist you with supporting these friends.

NAMI’s How to Help a Friend provides information about warning signs, how to share your concerns and offer support, including a student guide poster with tips that you can print and post at your high school, in your college dorm or elsewhere.

Check In person Support on this page for Allcove center and Downtown Youth Wellness Center.

I Want to Help My Friend This JED Foundation page has great articles on how to tell when a friend is struggling, and what you can do to help.

neverabother.org has suicide warning signs and resources to get help as well as how to help a friend.

Seize The Awkward highlights warning signs, stories of how concerned friends had a positive impact, conversation starters, follow up questions and actions you can take to continue supporting your friend.

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Being connected to others who can understand and empathize with your experiences can be powerful and healing. Other people with mental health conditions can share coping skills and offer compassionate you support. Here are some resources. Call NAMI Helpline at 408-453-0400 option 1 Mon – Fri 10am-6pm for more information and learn about other local resources for youth in our county.

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For teens, we recommend talking to your parents first and having them assist you with selecting treatment professionals as their insurance will determine which professionals you have access to.

For young adults, we have some excellent resources on our Finding Treatment page to get you started. Be sure to read the tips for finding the right care section. You find useful information including the following:

• Tips on Finding the Right Therapist for Teens
• How to get insurance to cover denied claims
• Checklist to bring to the appointment. Download, complete this useful checklist from Mental Health America before your appointment with your doctor. You can use this to remind you of what to talk to the doctor and help you keep track of your progress.

Our Helpline Assistants are also available to help you with this process. Just give them a call at 408-453-0400, x1 Mon-Fri 10am – 6pm

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If you are in Middle School or High School, you have the right to request accommodations if your mental health symptoms impact your ability to learn, attend school or complete schoolwork. There are different types of plans with different types of services depending on your needs.

504 plans: The accommodations under 504 plan are limited but may be suitable for children who may only need few modifications. Modifications may include taking the test in a separate setting, extended time to complete assignments and tests, frequent breaks etc.Here is a list of 504 accomodations you can request from your school (www.wrightslaw). To learn about 504 plan, click here.

Individualized Education Plans (IEPs): IEP sets learning goals and provides services which may include therapeutic support in the classroom, academic support, modifications to class curriculum, transition planning. IEP is especially useful for students whose mental illness causes behavioral issues, school avoidance or other conditions that impair their ability to attend school and/or their academic abilities. Learn more about special education here.

How to Request a 504 or IEP

Your parents will need to be involved in this process, so we recommend talking to them first. There are lots of resources available to help you and your parents. If you are having difficulty getting support from your parents, see our “Making Your Parents Allies” resources above.

Our NAMI Basics class for parents contains some information about Special Education Services. Call our Helpline at 408-453-0400, option 1 to find out more or sign up for the class.

NAMI Santa Clara County’s Helpline Assistants are available to answer questions and connect your parents with helpful resources. They are available Monday through Friday, 10am – 6pm.

Parents Helping Parents 408-727-5775 or toll free 855-727-5775 Parents Helping Parents is a local, Santa Clara County based organization that educates and assists parents with advocating for special education services. We highly recommend contacting them if you plan to request services from your school.

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College brings new freedoms, new opportunities and new responsibilities. Transitioning to college introduces challenges for anyone. Classes are more demanding and the need for time management and study skills increases. Additionally, you will be spending lots of time and energy making new friends and building a new support system for yourself. With all these exciting changes, it’s not surprising that half of all college students report experiencing concerning mental health symptoms. There are some things you can do to plan ahead if you are already aware that you have a mental health condition. The following websites offer a variety of resources to prepare for this exciting yet stressful transition.

Mental Health College Guide A guide created by NAMI National with alliance with the JED Foundation. This guide was made to help you navigate some of the life changes that come with heading off to college.

NAMI’s Next Gen News! A youth-to-youth newsletter that connects aspiring mental health advocates with tools, information and resources.

Teen and Young Adult Helpline NAMI Teen & Young Adult Helpline, Available Monday Through Friday, 10:00 AM – 10:00 PM ET.  NAMI is proud to introduce the Teen and Young Adult (TYA) HelpLine: A free nationwide peer-support service providing information, resource referrals, and support to teens and young adults. Our T&YA Specialists are young people who understand what you’re going through because they have been through stuff, too. They are experienced and well-trained. They care and want to help you find a way forward. Reach out by phone, text, or chat.

NAMI Say it Out Loud! NAMI Say it Out Loud is a free online card game created BY young people FOR young people. Checkout conversation prompts about life, relationships and mental health.

Checkout the printable pdf flyer here.

NAMI National “Managing a Mental Health Condition in College” NAMI National addresses topics such as selecting a school that’s right for you as well as how to access resources and take of yourself upon your arrival on the campus of your choice.

Mental Health America Life On Campus– For students in college, Mental Health America has developed Back to Campus materials and an accompanying toolkit that provides parents and young adults with helpful information and resources.

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Now Matters Now – A great website to learn skills and find support for coping with suicidal thoughts. It has videos to teach mindfulness and DBT skills that have been proven to help people considering suicide.

Anxiety in Teens​ Anxiety In Teens, a 501(c)3 non-profit, was founded in 2006 in Minneapolis, MN. Founder and Executive Director Solome Tibebu dealt with a severe anxiety disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder throughout middle school and high school, feeling alone and frustrated. Anxiety in Teens Contributors are part of a nationwide community to help youth and help one another.

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.

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 and also to help friends who are struggling

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.

TeenCentral is a website powered by KidsPeace as a free and safe prevention and intervention resource specifically for youth. On TeenCentral, you can find information on a variety of topics. You can also submit a story or post about any crisis, problem or situation you’re struggling with and receive a therapeutic support response within 24 hours, safely, anonymously, and free of charge.

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There are so many Mental Health apps out there these days! If you plan to use one, make sure that they do not share any of the personal data you will be recording in the app. For app reviews visit one of the following sites.

Reach Out.com’s Tools and Apps page contains reviews on apps including user ratings, goals of the apps and methods the app employs. Reach Out.com is an Australian online mental health organization for young people and their parents.

SIOL   Say It Out Loud is a free online card game created BY young people FOR young people. Checkout conversation prompts about life, relationship and mental health

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There are many organizations doing great work to end the stigma surrounding mental health. You may find it healing and empowering to get involved with what they are doing. Here are just a few.

Active Minds is a nonprofit that empowers college students to speak openly about mental health, Active Minds aims to educate others and encourage help-seeking.

Bring Change to Mind – Bring Change to Mind is a nonprofit organization, co-founded by actress and activist Glenn Close, dedicated to encouraging dialogue about mental health.

California Youth Empowerment Network (CAYEN)  – CAYEN engages youth and young adults who been touched in some way by the mental health, juvenile justice or foster care systems with a goal is to develop, improve and strengthen the voice of Transition Age Youth (TAY) in local and state-level policy to create positive change in the mental health system.

The Jason Foundation, Inc. (JFI) is dedicated to the prevention of the “Silent Epidemic” of youth suicide through educational and awareness programs that equip young people, educators/youth workers and parents with the tools and resources to help identify and assist at-risk youth.

Young Minds Advocacy (est. 2012) is a nonprofit organization founded to address the number one health issue facing young people and their families—unmet mental health needs. Using a blend of policy research and advocacy, impact litigation, and strategic communications, we work to change attitudes towards mental illness and break down barriers to quality mental healthcare for young people and their families.