Tomorrow (19th September) is Youth Mental Health Day 2025 in the UK, with the theme of ‘Share Support’ encouraging children, young people and their families to connect, share and access vital support.
Led by youth mental health charity Stem4, Youth Mental Health Day is an important annual movement, designed to raise awareness of mental health concerns among young people and provide hope and positivity.
Currently, 1 in 5 8-25-year-olds has a diagnosable mental health disorder, but only 40% are able to access effective treatment and support.
Youth Mental Health Day aims to mitigate this by engaging young people in conversations and activities about supporting and improving their mental health. The annual awareness campaign aims to give young people “a voice and agency to take steps towards their own and their peers’ positive mental health.”
Stem4 are a leading digital mental health charity for young people.
They founded Youth Mental Health Day in 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting national lockdowns had a serious impact on the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people across the UK, leaving many isolated and lonely, or grappling with grief and anxiety.
Connect, share and access support this Youth Mental Health Day
Knowing that many young people in the UK are struggling to access effective mental health support, they chose this year’s theme, Share Support, to urge young people and those caring for them to connect, share and access “clinically-informed mental health resources.”
On their website, Stem4 explains:
“Peer support plays a crucial role in young people’s mental health, offering a sense of connection, understanding, and shared experience that can reduce feelings of isolation. When young people share their own coping strategies and recommendations, it not only empowers them but also provides others with relatable, practical tools to navigate their challenges.”
The charity says peer support can be paired with tech-based mental health management resources, such as clinically-informed and evidence-based apps, which make mental health support more accessible for many young people, as well as tailored to their individual needs.
This Youth Mental Health Day, stem4 urges:
“Let’s create a supportive community where evidence-based strategies are amplified and where sharing through peer support is a powerful form of caring.”
Reap the benefits of peer support this Youth Mental Health Day
The Share Support campaign theme for Youth Mental Health Day 2025 is backed up by powerful research findings, such as:
- Peer support can be associated with a reduction in depression and anxiety in young people
- Peer support groups can help young people feel less alone
- Young people who receive peer support can be more likely to discuss their issues and to seek help when needed
- Peer support can help young people to feel understood in a way that traditional adult-led interventions may not be able to
- Peer mentoring in schools can improve academic performance and behaviour
Stem4 highlights a number of other significant benefits associated with young people sharing support around mental health and wellbeing, including:
- It normalises talking about mental health and discussing mental health concerns without fear of judgment
- Young people may trust their peers more than adults due to the power of shared lived experiences, making them more relatable
- Online peer support is growing and developing, making mental health support more accessible
- Young people who access peer support are shown to develop stronger coping strategies for stress, anxiety and social pressures
Get involved in Youth Mental Health Day
As the UK marks Youth Mental Health Day, organisations, schools, communities and individuals get involved and help raise awareness by sharing their stories, sharing evidence-based resources, providing feedback, and downloading free Share Support resources from Stem4.
Youth Mental Health Day resources include a supportive guide for young people featuring practical tips and reflection prompts, a Friends Watch poster, posters and presentations for schools and community spaces and social media assets.
You can also show your support for Youth Mental Health Day and Stem4 by making a donation.
Learn more about supporting youth mental health
First Response Training (FRT) is a leading national training provider delivering courses in subjects such as health and safety, first aid, fire safety, manual handling, food hygiene, mental health, health and social care, safeguarding and more.
They work with a large number of early years and childcare providers, as well as schools, colleges, universities and children’s services.
Their courses include Understanding Mental Health, Youth Mental Health First Aid and Self-Harm Awareness.
A trainer from FRT says:
“Youth Mental Health Day is such an important annual awareness campaign.
“We know that young people are really struggling right now. Research suggests that more young people are expressing their mental health struggles through self-harming behaviours. This is extremely worrying.
“It’s vitally important that anyone who works closely with children and young people has an understanding of youth mental health and wellbeing, and is able to spot the signs that someone may be struggling and can offer appropriate support. Focused training can help with this.”
Free resources to help support young minds
You can download our free Guide to Supporting Young Minds, which supports Youth Mental Health Day and offers advice and guidance about the practical ways to support a child or young person experiencing a mental health problem.
We also have a number of free infographics available to download which provide simple tips for helping to manage anxiety and panic attacks. These include:
A brief summary of our mental health training can now be downloaded as an infographic.
You can also download our free Guide to Mental Health Training from our website.
For more information on the training that FRT can provide, please call them today on freephone 0800 310 2300 or send an e-mail to info@firstresponsetraining.com.