What resources do students actually use for mental health support?

An estimated 49.5% of U.S. adolescents have had a mental disorder at some point during their lives; High school students are a large part of this demographic. These adolescents who struggle with their mental health may feel overwhelmed and unsure of where to get support. Though there are a number of resources available, they often don’t know where to turn to. To better understand this phenomenon, Blue Fever surveyed its users about where they typically go to get mental health support. Nearly 19% of survey respondents were unsure on where they would go for mental health support; that’s 19 percent too many.

According to our survey, the top five resources that high school students often go to for mental health support are:

Counseling services: These services can be provided by licensed therapists or mental health professionals, and can include individual therapy, group therapy, or a combination of both. This is in line with Blue Fever responses where therapy was the most popular response, with a quarter (25%) of respondents saying they would seek help from a therapist or counseling services.

Friends and family: High school students often turn to their friends and family for support with their mental health; twenty-one percent of respondents surveyed said they would go to friends or family for support. While it may be intimidating to open up about mental health struggles, having a supportive network of people who care, are willing to listen, and can provide advice can be incredibly helpful in managing these challenges.

Online resources: There are a number of online mental health resources available to high school students. 8% of respondents mentioned using online resources such as virtual support groups or self-help apps for mental health support. These can include online therapy or counseling services, and self-care resources, like Blue Fever, an App on a mission to reverse the mental health crisis disproportionately affecting young people and students.

School Counselor: School counselors are trained to provide basic mental health support and can often refer students to additional resources if they are experiencing severe mental health challenges. Unfortunately, only 7% of respondents said they would go to their school counselor for support.

Support groups: groups provide a safe and supportive space for students to share their experiences and receive support from others who are going through similar struggles. Unfortunately, no one mentioned support groups in the Blue Fever survey, so this may not be a well known option for the group surveyed.