Ask any teenager how they’re doing right now, and odds are you’ll hear some version of overwhelm in their words or their voices. And they’re not being dramatic.
According to the CDC, nearly half of U.S. high schoolers report feeling persistently sad or hopeless, and suicide remains the second leading cause of death for teens.
But too often, we respond to teen distress with the same outdated but well-meaning playbook of school assemblies, stricter rules, or more referrals to overstretched professionals. These traditional pathways weren’t written for the realities of today’s teens, who are navigating a world unlike anything we’ve seen before: chronically online, socially fragmented, and under relentless pressure.
If we want different results, we need to stop sidelining the people closest to the crisis. We need to empower young people to support each other. And further than that, we need to create mental health service models that center their lived expertise.
I’ve spent decades of my career in mental health care and now lead Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, a national pioneer in suicide prevention and whole-person mental health and crisis care. My work is personal. I’m also a mom who just raised a teenager. I’ve had the late-night conversations, the quiet worry, and the desperate hope that I was saying the right thing. So when I say the system isn’t working for our kids, I say it with the urgency of a parent and the conviction of a provider.
According to a recent report from GWI, 80 percent of Gen Z report feeling lonely, making them the “loneliest” generation on record. And the support systems they need aren’t keeping up. The American School Counselor Association recommends a 250 to 1 student-to-counselor ratio, but the national average is 385 to 1. In some states, it’s even worse.
Now imagine you’re a high schooler who has finally worked up the courage to ask for help, only to be told the counselor is booked until next week. So you Google. Or scroll. Or maybe you don’t ask again. That’s the reality for far too many teens. When mental health support is inaccessible or simply doesn’t resonate with a teen’s experience, many give up on seeking help at all.
But there is hope, and teens themselves are pointing the way forward. Young people are far more likely to open up to someone who understands their reality: the anxiety of college admissions, the endless scroll of social media, the fear of school shootings, the pressure to appear “OK” at all times. That’s the power of peer support.
At Didi Hirsch, we see this daily through Teen Line, our peer-to-peer mental health hotline staffed by trained teen volunteers. In 2024 alone, Teen Line handled more than 8,800 contacts from teens seeking someone who simply gets it. One Teen Line counselor told us, “Sometimes callers say, ‘I’ve never told anyone this before.’ That moment of being seen can be life-changing. And sometimes it’s something only a peer can offer.”
Studies show that digital peer interventions can significantly improve mental health outcomes, often with results on par with traditional therapy. For a young person living in an abusive home or without the financial means for ongoing therapy or care, being able to quietly text someone who understands can make a world of difference.
And it’s not just hotlines. Our youth wellness center has seen healing begin in the in-between places: over a warm meal, an art class, or even a Super Mario tournament. These physical, low-pressure “third spaces” (gathering spots outside of school or the home) create the kind of trust that opens the door to deeper mental health support, allowing us to build the trust necessary to see meaningful growth on their own terms.
Teens don’t need to be therapists, and peer support is not a substitute for professional care. But it is the first line of defense, the early net that can catch someone before a fall becomes a free fall. Teens are already turning to each other, so let’s give them the tools they need to do it safely and effectively.
That means bold investment in youth-centered mental health strategies to scale what’s working, like:
—National funding for peer-to-peer hotlines across schools, states, and platforms;
—Training, supervision, and support for teen counselors (this isn’t free emotional labor);
—Culturally competent, multilingual, inclusive models that reflect real teen diversity;
—Low-barrier “third spaces” where teens can connect on their own terms and at their own pace.
The youth mental health crisis may be one of the greatest challenges of this generation. But the solutions are already here, in the voices of young people ready to lead, listen, and care.
Imagine a world where teens don’t have to carry the weight of their world alone. Where reaching out isn’t a last resort, but a first instinct. This Mental Health Month, let’s do more than raise awareness. Let’s raise the bar for how we support and empower our youth. Let’s fund what works and amplify what’s already helping.
And most of all, let’s shift our mindsets. We need to stop treating teens as passive recipients of care and start recognizing them as partners in their own mental health. They’re already stepping up for each other. We need to meet them there.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text “988” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.
Lyn Morris is CEO of Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services.
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.
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