The Child Mind Institute's Stavros Niarchos Foundation Global Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health is centering young people's voices in mental health care design through its Global Youth Advisory Council.
The council brings together teens and young adults to shape how mental health solutions get built and advanced. Rather than adults deciding what young people need, this collaborative model asks youth directly what works for them.
Mai El Shoush, Partnerships Campaign Manager at the SNF Global Center, emphasizes that teenagers and young adults understand their own mental health needs better than anyone else. Their input reshapes treatment approaches, prevention programs, and how mental health gets talked about in schools and communities.
This shift reflects growing research showing that youth engagement improves outcomes. When young people help design mental health interventions, those programs become more effective and more likely to actually reach the teens who need them. The council addresses everything from anxiety and depression to stress management and peer support strategies.
The Global Youth Advisory Council represents a broader movement at the Child Mind Institute to listen rather than assume. Teens face distinct mental health challenges that look different from adult experiences. Social media pressure, academic stress, social isolation, and identity development create pressures previous generations didn't navigate the same way.
By treating youth as experts on their own lives, the council changes who gets a seat at the table. Young advisors don't just provide feedback on existing programs. They contribute to research direction, help identify gaps in current care, and advocate for peers who might not have access to mental health support.
This approach recognizes what researchers now widely accept. Adolescent mental health improves when young people feel heard and respected in the process. When teens help design mental health tools and programs, they're more likely to use them and recommend them to friends.
Parents watching their teen struggle with anxiety or depression might consider asking their child what they actually need rather than assuming. Schools implementing mental health programs benefit from