AIM-plified: Youth Voice Meets Expert Insights - 4 Key Takeaways
- Amber W. Childs, PhD
- Jun 11
- 3 min read
AIM Ambassador Zoe with Dr. Amber Childs
To my simultaneous delight and dismay, I fear that I am no longer young. Far from being all bad though (young people, come find me. There are so many treasures about stacking years), the wonderful upshot of being an intentional innovator, educator, researcher, clinician and all around enthusiast for change in youth mental health means that I get to regularly interact with young people. Recently, I spent some time chopping it up with Zoe W. on the AIM-plified podcast, and came away out of breath with inspiration and grateful for the opportunity to have had a genuine conversation and connection with a youth mental health leader, researcher and author. We covered everything from what adults misunderstand about youth mental health, to what asking for help actually looks like, to strategies youth can use to support a friend. Here are a few of my favorite moments:
Adults are (sometimes) getting it twisted.
Adults misunderstand and maybe even underestimate the reality of the challenges that teens are facing today, and how those challenges are not able to be fixed by ‘mindset shifts’ or as the old folks say, “pulling yourself up by the bootstraps”.
There are big factors that are outside of teens’ control, and we (adults) have to own that context when we’re understanding youth mental health
Teens actually know what they need.
Teens have a well-developed POV and analysis about the major problems and what might help
Adults have an opportunity to value youth’s lived experience as expertise and share power so that we can act on youth recommendations
The balancing act of getting support without feeling like a burden is real.
Stigma might be inching down in some circles, making more youth willing to talk about mental health concerns.
At the same time, increased focus may have some youth comparing their situation to others, and concerned about speaking up because they worry about invaliding someone who may have it worse
Youth want to lean on each other and adults when they need them.
Not every issue related to mental health needs a big, huge reaction from adults
Youth want to know how to support each other, and strategies for how and when they can bring trusted adults into the loop if a concern develops for a friends safety
Youth are also concerned about losing power and autonomy, and so transparency and a shared approach to decisions is key for youth when they do get adults involved
Youth also want to build consistency and trust with adults before diving deep into major mental health challenges
Zoe describe this expertly when she said, “...they’re [teens] less likely to go to adults because they don’t want to have a very serious and consequential conversation…they want to kind of like ease into trust. And so I think like starting the conversation off less by addressing major questions…and then over time once you start to solve smaller problems, you can tackle bigger ones and you build more trust over time. And then I think more teens would feel comfortable asking adults and professionals for help…”
I could keep going...
...but at this point, I feel like you just need to listen to the episode (1.3x speed if you’re like me, and listening on a power walk).
There is no way to capture every single gem, and that just goes to show that the value of even a single, intentional conversation with youth, who are experts in their lives and experiences, is limitless. Imagine what will happen when we continue this work. Thank you, Zoe (and every young person I'm fortunate enough to share space with) for showing us all what is waiting for us when we do!
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