Jenny Yuen: Yeah. I think that, you know, the environment has changed. The destigmatization of mental health is just much more prominent. And we're seeing many more services and programs that are really talking about promoting help seeking behaviour, mental health literacy. So that's the generation that they've grown up with. And, you know, technology is also all around them where, you know, many of the services and organisations are also in their worlds, really trying to ensure that they are aware that mental health and well-being will be a challenge and things will impact. But at the same time, there are also supports that are available.

Nicole Koslov: Well, I think it's good news because I think partly it suggests that the stigma of seeking mental health support has been reduced over the years. And and so it may be that mental health promotion initiatives are are working, that young people know where to seek support and that organisations are designing their services to better meet the needs of youth. So that's that's all good news. What I worry about, though, is that it's not only that more young people are recognising that they need support and know where to get it, but that the numbers of young people who are experiencing mental health problems has been going up.

Jenny Yuen: I think it's twofold to to what Nicole had said as well. They're also experiencing more they're really processing the world in real time. When you have so much technology in front of you, they have so much more information than we would have had. Right. And so and they're processing it in a way where they're still developing their life skills and this ability to be able to adapt. So they're compounded reasons as to why they're experiencing this. But at the same time, they do have access to more support. So it's coming both ways, right? Where they're experiencing more, but there's also more support out there. So they will require that resilience because they're just consuming a lot more in real time.

Nicole Koslov: Yeah, so I think it's a really good point that when we talk about resilience, we need to think about what are we asking young people to be resilient to? And when we look at, you know, rates of poverty and food insecurity and housing supply and as you said, climate change and all the other. Issues that are in the world right now, it's important that we don't expect that the youth who have experienced the greatest structural inequities are that we're expecting the most from them in terms of resilience. So I think I think it's really important to to ensure that our our, the world around us is, is a, is a place that helps support young people and their development and, and, and their hope for the future.

Jenny Yuen: Yeah, I mean, we're seeing a lot in our services around bullying, loneliness, relationships in from in 2025, we started to see an increase in conversations around sextortion. And so.

Jenny Yuen: Yeah. So this is actually it's basically being extorted for photos or something that you've done where and it'll be released unless there's a demand met. And so we're starting to see some of those trends in our, in our conversations with young people. And actually more specifically, it's we're seeing more male in male service users. So it's really just, you know, what Nicole said too, there's just a lot of complexity in terms of what young people are experiencing at, at younger ages. Our service mandate is actually 5 to 29 that we never turn young people away, and we're just seeing an increase in conversations around suicide and suicide ideation, self-harm, bullying, loneliness. And then like I said, we're starting to see those emerging trends like we did, you know, years before when cyberbullying was becoming a major issue. We're really starting to see those trends because we're in their worlds. There's nothing more local than exactly where you are in the moment that you're feeling them and having a safe space and having that agency to reach out. And so with that, we get a lot of honesty and the ability for young people to want to seek help, but also share what they're experiencing.

Jenny Yuen: I think, you know, some of the things that we've talked about here is just the complexity in relationships and loneliness and how they're experiencing the world overall. And it is a way that they are finding a way to cope. So it's one of those things where we're starting to see that emerging trends. So that really that type of data then helps inform what prevention and literacy might do. You know, as we're in communities really trying to, to build prevention as well.

Nicole Koslov: So certainly, we're seeing the same issues with self-harm, suicidal ideation. We're seeing all of the typical mental health problems that have presented in the past, but in greater numbers, issues with substance use and particularly cannabis with technology overuse. So it really runs the gamut. And I think, to Jenny's point, really reflects that young people are being asked to cope with greater complexity in the world and may not have the positive coping skills in order to deal with it.

Nicole Koslov: Yeah, it's so interesting. So on the one hand, we certainly see from that 15 to 24 age group, you know, they all of them actually, the whole cohort really says it helps them stay connected to stay current on events and they want to learn things. That's really.

Jenny Yuen: What we talked about loneliness as well.

Nicole Koslov: That's right. It's so interesting. And then on the flip side, we're also hearing that there are the negative effects where that cohort of kind of 15 plus is really experiencing the negative effects more. However, that element of connectivity and being able to that is part of their world. So it's that, that tension that they, they all feel where it does have negative effects, but it also has positivity. So that's why a lot of the programs that, you know, we're seeing a lot of platforms develop as well in partnership with organisations that are you serving is really focussed on literacy. How do you what are those guardrails? How do you use it, but how do you use it safely? And how do you ensure that it's actually fostering positive mental health and well-being and trying to prevent some of the negative impacts as well?

Jenny Yuen: Do you mind if we unpack that a little bit? What are we talking about when we talk about those guardrails? What are some of the advice?

Jenny Yuen: Yeah, so we've had certainly young people reach out and some of the coping tips that we share on kids as well is really time making it time bound, understanding where you're going to, how you want to engage with it, where, where your friends might be. So being able to set those boundaries are incredibly important and really understanding the, you know, that the algorithms of doomscrolling and all this thing, putting time limits are incredibly important and also trying to foster those, the positive ways in terms of how you want to communicate through social as well as the content that you're looking at as well.

Nicole Koslov: I'm sure that with the young people that you're, you're working with, you're learning a lot from them as well. You know, young people are well versed not only in just therapeutic buzzwords that I think that, you know, we may jokingly be like, well, you know, let's unpack all that, but there's some stuff to learn there. But how do they build resilience to approach some of the conditions they're so keen to talk about?

Nicole Koslov: So I think this partly gets at some of the negative consequences of social media overuse, which is that it takes them away sometimes from, you know, real life connection. And I think that's where we can help them build coping skills is, you know, how do you connect with people around you, with your community? How do you be physically present and identify ways of accessing support that we might traditionally have looked to in the past? You know, young people are reporting that they're less likely to talk to their parents and their family or other adults about their feelings than than in previous, previous cohorts. So it's really important that that the adults around them make it so that they're likely to open up to them, that they validate their experiences and that they show genuine interest in, in how they're feeling and what they're experiencing.

Jenny Yuen: Yeah. And I think and that's, that's the element that we've talked about as well, is how, how does social actually engage and actually foster your mental health and well-being? But at the same time, exactly what Nicole said, there's a role for that. And then what are the other elements of your plan or the way that you want to foster your positive mental health outside of your devices? So that's been something that's been a conversation across all of our channels. And we're like I said, we're continuing to see young people reach out where it's like I said, it's that tension. It's exactly how they stay connected. But at the same time, we want to set those guardrails.

Jenny Yuen: Yeah, I think for us, we're hearing a lot, especially in the Gen Z, as they think about, you know, job seeking and education. And those elements are really seeing significant worry around affordability, employment and whatnot. And then you balance that with needing actually mental health resources when they are in these jobs overall. And so when we talk about promoting help seeking, it's also enabling systems that allow for them to reach out for the support. It can be incredibly expensive. And so offering, you know, the free services or ways that they can navigate a system that actually has supported by government, supported by community, those are really important to enable the access. So it's not just about creating the access, it's actually enabling it. And so part of it is, you know, funding and the ability for us to support people through that journey.

Jenny Yuen: Yeah, I think part of it is making those access points accessible for, for lack of a better term, how are, how are we showing up in their world? You know, so a young person might not know they need support until they're exactly in that moment. So how do you meet them in the moment as opposed to them needing to search and navigate what service might be appropriate for them? So being able to have as many doors as possible that really lead them into an ecosystem that can support them no matter what the issue is, super is really the key. So outside of funding, to your point, the access and enabling that access being where they are, that's why the innovation and technology and being in those spaces is so important.

Jenny Yuen: Yeah, we're starting to see and young people are referring to the fact that they've been referred by one of the conversation bots, coming to Kids Help phone. So that integration is becoming more and more apparent, where again, it's like wherever they start, it leads them to the appropriate resource that meets them for what they need now.

Nicole Koslov: So I think it's so important that we have a spectrum of services available. And so to Jenny's point, it's really important that we have low barrier services that are offered in a timely way. So for example, walk in services, services like kids help phone that that meet young people where they are in the moment. And also that that opens the door to a spectrum of services that is targeted to their level of need and to the specific mental health problems they have. Some young people will need, you know, 1 or 2 sessions, and then they'll have their needs met by that. And as long as they can get that in a timely way, and it's evidence based and, and, and by a professional therapist, they'll have their needs met. Other young people are going to have more recurrent or longer term problems that they're going to need something more intensive longer term. And we need to have that in the system available too. So really, it's about having the right services available at the right time to meet young people where they are.

Nicole Koslov: Okay, so the consequences and and we saw this in, the recent report, that you referenced earlier is that we see more long term disability claims. So, young people, when they are struggling with mental health problems that that don't resolve right away or don't start to get better right away. It takes them out of the workforce. And we see both, both people, coming out of the workforce or temporarily coming out of the workforce or showing up to work, but not being as productive as they might be otherwise. We also see, longer health problems that in the longer term can, come out of early mental health struggles, substance use problems. And, this, this can create, in young people if their needs aren't being met at the outset. Longer term consequences for them.

Nicole Koslov: Nicole. Jenny, we are going to have to leave it there. Really appreciate your insights and your knowledge on this. Thank you so much.

Jenny Yuen: Thank you for having us.