How music therapy is quietly — and sometimes loudly — fighting the teen mental health crisis

Nuci’s Space aims to prevent suicide by providing a safe space for people of all ages, particularly youth, to connect and play music. They also offer affordable practice spaces and mental and physical health care services for participants, including affordable counseling.

Raw Art Works is a nonprofit youth development organization that provides art therapy services to 290 youth each week. Studies show art therapy can reduce psychiatric readmission rates for patients, and those who participated in the program say it has been life-changing, teaching them coping skills that supported them into adulthood.

ACCESS Open Minds connects youth and young adults to mental health support, including therapists, caseworkers and peer navigators to help them get the care they need. One of ACCESS’s main goals is to bridge the gap between the complexities of the mental health care system and the community. By creating these youth wellness hubs and connecting people with the appropriate services, ACCESS has decreased the number of hospitalizations and emergency room visits and increased the number of people getting mental health care.

Working on Womanhood (WOW) works to build confidence, self-awareness, community and healthy coping mechanisms among Black and Latina girls in sixth to twelfth grade. WOW offers easily accessible group therapy in schools and is led by Black and Latinx social workers who can provide culturally relevant care to youth in need. WOW serves 350 students in one school district and surveys show that participants are less depressed and anxious and exhibit more self-confidence.

Connecticut colleges are implementing QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) training to teach students how to recognize suicide warning signs, ask direct questions like "Are you thinking about suicide?" and connect peers to professional help. Since 2022, over 1,000 people have been trained through Connecticut Children's Youth Suicide Prevention Center alone, with hundreds more trained at individual campuses like Southern Connecticut State University.

Outback Mind operates community-based, peer-led men's circles across rural and regional Australia where local men facilitate regular gatherings that teach emotional literacy and create safe spaces for men to express emotions. Last year, up to 2,500 men attended these circles and reported feeling more capable of processing emotions they’d previously ignore.

The Kniffley Racial Trauma Therapy Model is specifically designed for people of color and focuses on affirming racial identity and providing a safe space to discuss traumatic experiences and gain a sense of empowerment. The model uses culturally relevant therapeutic tools and therapists who have been trained with it report a significant increase in how prepared they are to address racial trauma with clients.

The Hope Squad teaches students how to advocate for themselves and their peers and teaches the question, persuade, refer (QPR) approach to navigating mental health. While the students aren’t trained therapists, they help their peers get the mental health support they need. Over the years the program has referred thousands of students to mental healthcare professionals and decreased the rate of suicide in the school district.

The Friends Advocacy for Mental Health Initiative (FAM) spreads awareness of the importance of mental health. It works to bring services like counseling and support groups to rural communities and schools. The Initiative’s Adolescents Save Haven Club hosts monthly sessions in secondary schools across the country, helping guide youth on their mental health journey, and has since helped over 300 students.

The Colorado Agricultural Addiction and Mental Health Program (CAAMHP) works to make mental health care more accessible by offering residents six free counseling sessions with licensed behavioral health professionals who have completed culturally relevant training in order to better connect with farmers and ranchers facing mental health issues. So far more than 30 clinicians have completed the training and there are about 15 therapists working with CAAMHP, helping to provide care and reduce stigma surrounding mental health in the farm and ranch industry.