Mental Health for Teens

Mental health resources for teens: self-help guides, novels, nonfiction, memoirs, graphic novels, websites, and help lines.

Updated May 3, 2025
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In my feelings : a teen guide to discovering what you feel so you can decide what to do
Annan, Vidal, Jr.
Paper Book
Give teens the tools to decipher their emotions, understand themselves, and improve their lives. The simple and empowering message of In My Feelings is that emotions, especially unpleasant ones, are not just to be avoided, controlled, or treated. Emotions can serve as...
Project you : more than 50 ways to calm down, de-stress, and feel great
Andrus, Aubre
Paper Book
Find your balance. Become stronger. Feel amazing. Center yourself after a stressful week by taking five minutes to write in your journal. Strengthen your body and calm your mind with simple yoga poses and breathing techniques. Craft a vision board to help you achieve your goals. Award-winning author...
Boys Will Be Human: A Get-Real Gut-Check Guide to Becoming the Strongest, Kindest, Bravest Person You Can Be
Baldoni, Justin
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! From filmmaker, actor, and author Justin Baldoni comes a real-talk, self-esteem-building guidebook that helps boys ages 11 and up embrace their feelings and fears instead of repress them. Highly designed and filled with activities,...
Here I am, I am me : an illustrated guide to mental health
Bean, Cara
Paper Book
This colorful graphic novel adventure through the brain demystifies and destigmatizes emotional and mental health for children through accessible language and lessons. Join author-illustrator Cara Bean in Here I Am, I Am Me, as she takes readers on an...

2024

Life inside my mind : 31 authors share their personal struggles
Burkhart, Jessica
Paper Book
Your favorite YA authors including Ellen Hopkins, Maureen Johnson, and more recount their own experiences with mental illness in this raw, real, and powerful collection of essays that explores everything from ADD to PTSD. Have you ever felt like you just couldn't get out of bed?...
Absolutely Normal : Short Stories That Smash Mental Health Stereotypes
Carpenter, Nora Shalaway (EDT)/ Callen, Rocky (EDT)
Paper Book
Channeling their own experiences, sixteen exceptional authors subvert mental health stereotypes in a powerful and uplifting collection of fiction. A teen activist wrestles with protest-related anxiety and PTSD. A socially anxious vampire learns he has to save his town by (gulp)...
Dealing with stress : insights and tips for teenagers
Cognevich, Christie
Paper Book
Today's teenagers are dealing with stress at an unprecedented level. The inescapable flood of difficult news and world concerns can make anyone--but especially young adults--feel isolated and anxious. Dealing with Stress: Insights and Tips for Teenagers offers relatable anecdotes and...
Depression : insights and tips for teenagers
Cognevich, Christie
Paper Book
Adolescent depression is often dismissed as a normal teenage experience, a bad mood, or something to outgrow. This is far from the truth, and it's important that young adults and their families and friends understand how crucial it is to address any social, emotional, and physical difficulties they...
Introverts : insights and tips for teenagers
Cognevich, Christie
Paper Book
A must-read book for introverted teenagers to help them understand and harness their incredible skill set that School Library Journal says is an "insightful and affirming resource for understanding introverts, providing both depth and breadth in its exploration." ...
Where to start : a survival guide to anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges
Correll, Gemma
Paper Book
A comforting and useful resource for anyone who's struggling emotionally and looking for help―from the nation's leading community-based nonprofit that addresses the needs of those living with mental illness It can be extremely hard to figure out what's going on in our own...
I'm here : a peer counseling guide for teens
Crist, James J.
Advice for teens wanting to help friends and peers with their mental health. Mental health problems in young people are on the rise, and teens want resources to help friends in crisis. I'm Here: A Peer Counseling Guide for Teens fills that need, discussing teens' mental...
(Don't) call me crazy : 33 voices start the conversation about mental health
Jensen, Kelly
Paper Book
Talk openly about mental health with thirty-three diverse and empowering actors, athletes, writers, and artists in this Washington Post Best Children's Book. Contributors include: Kristin Bell, Nancy Kerrigan, S. Jae-Jones, Meredith Russo, V.E. Schwab, and Adam Silvera,...
Getting comfortable with uncertainty for teens : 10 tips to overcome anxiety, fear & worry
Negreiros, Juliana
Paper Book
A fun and practical guide to help you deal with feelings of anxiety, fear, worry, and self-doubt. Do you ever feel stressed, worried, or anxious about the future? You aren't alone. From pandemics and natural disasters to school violence and social media overload, today's teens face...
The highly sensitive teen : using your hidden powers to balance emotions, set boundaries, and embrace who you are
Noring, Lea
Paper Book
A teen's guide to surviving--and thriving--with high sensitivity in an insensitive world. Does it ever feel like your emotions are more intense than others? Are you bothered by loud noises, bright lights, or strong smells, or feel overwhelmed by crowds or the prospect of...
Sensory Life on the Spectrum : An Autistic Comics Anthology
Ollerton, Rebecca
Paper Book
A colorful and eclectic comics anthology exploring a wide range of autistic experiences--from diagnosis journeys to finding community--from autistic contributors. From artist and curator Bex Ollerton comes an anthology featuring comics from thirty autistic creators about their...
Lavender clouds : comics about neurodivergence and mental health
Ollerton, Bex
Paper Book
A dazzling, humorous, and highly personal portrayal of neurodivergence from a leading voice in mental health comics. Eisner Award nominated author Bex Ollerton--known as @Schnumn to her thousands of followers--is a talented comic artist who feels energized and courageous on some...

2024

The Trans and Gender Diverse Teen Resilience Guide: Essential Skills for Building Community, Well-being, and Mental Health
Peta, Jayme L.
A teen-friendly guide to help you embrace your identity, build resilience, and thrive. As a transgender or nonbinary teen, you may sometimes feel like you are alone. The world can be a scary, unkind place, and if you're struggling to find support, you may be tempted to lose hope....
Friendship : insights and tips for teenagers
Rawitt, Jean
Paper Book
In this age of social media, where many interactions with friends occur online, Friendship: Insights and Tips for Teenagers explores the greater meaning of friendship as a deeply significant and fulfilling area of life. Featuring lively and thoughtful anecdotes from young people who reveal...
Heads up : changing minds on mental health
Siebert, Melanie
Paper Book
Key Selling Points It's time to open up about mental health. One in five children and youth in Canada are affected by mental illness right now. And less than half of the youth who seek services get the help they need. This is the one book every kid, family, teacher and youth...
Suicide : when it happens to someone you know
Szumski, Bonnie
Paper Book
When someone you know--when someone you love--dies from suicide the sense of loss and guilt can be overwhelming and it is natural to wonder how you can ever come back from that pain. Suicide: When It Happens to Someone You Know offers a deeply personal look at the thoughts, feelings, and grieving...
The self-love revolution : radical body positivity for girls of color
Tovar, Virgie
Paper Book
"A terrific resource that shows readers how to start feeling good about their body and rewire their sense of self-worth." --School Library Journal starred review It's time to ditch harmful, outdated beauty standards and build real, lasting body positivity. It...
Social anxiety relief for teens : a step-by-step CBT guide to feel confident & comfortable in any situation
Walker, Bridget Flynn
Paper Book
A simple, five-step program to overcome the social anxiety standing between you and a  happier, more confident life Do you worry about what others think of you? Does fear of being judged trigger intense anxiety? If you're one of millions of teens suffering from social anxiety...
Shout : a poetry memoir
Anderson, Laurie Halse.
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller and one of 2019's best-reviewed books, a poetic memoir and call to action from the award-winning author of Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson! Bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson is known for the unflinching way she writes about, and...
Flamer
Curato, Mike
Paper Book
Named one of Kirkus' best books of the 21st century. Award-winning author and artist Mike Curato draws on his own experiences in Flamer, his debut graphic novel, telling a difficult story with humor, compassion, and love. "This book will...
Wild tongues can't be tamed : 15 voices from the Latinx diaspora
Fennell, Saraciea J.
Paper Book
Edited by The Bronx Is Reading founder Saraciea J. Fennell and featuring an all-star cast of Latinx contributors, Wild Tongues Can't Be Tamed is a ground-breaking anthology that will spark dialogue and inspire hope In Wild Tongues Can't Be Tamed, bestselling and...
Brave face : a memoir
Hutchinson, Shaun David
Paper Book
"[P]rofound...a triumph--a full-throated howl to the moon to remind us why we choose to survive and thrive." --Brendan Kiely, New York Times bestselling author of Tradition "Razor-sharp, deeply revealing, and brutally honest...emotionally raw and deeply...
You'd be home now
Glasgow, Kathleen
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From the critically acclaimed author of Girl in Pieces comes a stunning novel that Vanity Fair calls "impossibly moving" and "suffused with light". In this raw, deeply personal story, a teenaged girl struggles to find herself amidst the...
This is my brain in love
Gregorio, I. W.
Paper Book
A Schneider Family Book Award winner!  A Bank Street Best Book of the Year! Told in dual narrative, This Is My Brain in Love is a stunning YA contemporary romance, exploring mental health, race, and, ultimately self-acceptance, for fans...
The dark matter of Mona Starr
Gulledge, Laura Lee
Paper Book
Eisner Award-nominated author Laura Lee Gulledge's The Dark Matter of Mona Starr isa bold and original YA graphic novel about one teen's battle to understand her mental illness--and find her creative genius. Sometimes, the world is too much for Mona...
We weren't looking to be found
Kuehn, Stephanie
Paper Book
Dani comes from the richest, most famous Black family in Texas and has everything a girl could want. So why does she keep using drugs and engaging in other self-destructive behavior? Camila's Colombian American family doesn't have much, but she knows exactly what she wants out of life...
The Art of Losing
Mason, Lizzy.
Ebook
This "unflinchingly honest and touching" YA debut explores "the ever-complex relationship between sisters, the reality of addiction, and the nature of love in all forms" (Alexandra Bracken, New York Times bestselling author). On one terrible night, 17-year-old...
We Are All So Good at Smiling
McBride, Amber
Paper Book
They Both Die at the End meets The Bell Jar in this haunting, beautiful young adult novel-in-verse about clinical depression and healing from trauma, from National Book Award Finalist Amber McBride. Whimsy is back in the hospital for treatment of...
Who put this song on?
Parker, Morgan
Paper Book
"Unflinchingly irreverent, laugh-out-loud funny, and heartbreakingly honest." --Elizabeth Acevedo, National Book Award winner and New York Times bestselling author of The Poet X In the vein of powerful reads like The Hate U Give and The...
Hungry Ghost
Ying, Victoria
Paper Book
A beautiful and heart-wrenching young adult graphic novel takes a look at eating disorders, family dynamics, and ultimately, a journey to self-love. Valerie Chu is quiet, studious, and above all, thin. No one, not even her best friend Jordan, knows that she has been binging and...

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