The Child Mind Institute's SNF Global Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health launched a youth-led approach to mental health care. The Global Youth Advisory Council brings young people into conversations about building better mental health solutions. Mai El Shoush, Partnerships Campaign Manager at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Global Center, leads this collaboration effort.
This shift recognizes that teens and young adults have valuable insights about their own mental health needs. Rather than experts designing care in isolation, the council includes youth voices from the start. Young people understand what barriers prevent them from seeking help, what treatment formats actually work for their lives, and how stigma affects their willingness to engage.
The "mental health fitness" framework treats emotional wellness like physical fitness. Just as people build strength through consistent exercise, young people can build mental resilience through regular practices. This might include stress management techniques, peer support, therapy, or mindfulness routines tailored to how young people actually live.
Including youth in advisory roles changes what gets built. Teens push back on solutions that sound good in theory but feel awkward or inaccessible in practice. They flag when programs miss the mark on timing, language, or format. They know whether apps actually get used or sit ignored on phones.
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation's investment signals growing recognition that youth involvement improves mental health outcomes. When young people help design the systems meant to serve them, those systems address real problems rather than assumed ones.
Parents can support this shift by listening when their teens articulate what they need from mental health care. If your child resists a particular type of therapy or refuses to use a recommended app, ask why. Your teen's feedback matters. Many mental health providers now welcome teen input during treatment planning. Seek out practitioners who ask your child directly what helps rather than assuming the standard approach works for everyone.