Find a Mental Health Professional for Adolescent Wellbeing

About Adolescent Wellbeing support

Adolescence is a time of rapid change, including shifts in identity, relationships, thinking patterns, and independence. It is also a period of significant vulnerability to mental health difficulties, with many conditions first emerging in the teenage years. Challenges that adolescents commonly seek support for include anxiety, depression, social difficulties, identity questions, academic pressure, family conflict, and managing the transition between childhood and adulthood. Support for adolescents works best when it is developmentally sensitive, collaborative, and respectful of the young person's emerging autonomy. Approaches that work well include CBT, DBT skills, acceptance-based therapies, and arts or creative therapies for those who find talking difficult. Involving family in therapy can be helpful when relationships are strong, and family work is often an important part of adolescent mental health care. In Australia, headspace centres operate across the country and provide free or low-cost mental health, physical health, and wellbeing services for people aged 12 to 25. School-based counsellors are a first point of contact for many young people. Kids Helpline provides 24/7 telephone and online counselling for young Australians up to 25. GPs can refer adolescents to psychologists and psychiatrists under Medicare's Better Access initiative.