• by Colin Kirkland , Yesterday

YouTube is rolling out content and prompts designed to assist teen users with questions and concerns regarding mental health and well-being topics including depression, anxiety, ADHD and eating disorders.

In a blog post, YouTube’s Global Head of Health Garth Graham explains that teens “will now see a shelf of videos from trusted sources,” with the goal of making it easier for younger users “to find credible information that is tailored to their developmental stage of life.”

According to Graham, YouTube produced these videos after working with organizations specializing in providing mental health and well-being information for teens. To be eligible for inclusion, the video content was required to be “evidence-based, teen-centric, and engaging,” Graham adds.

The National Alliance for Eating Disorders, for example, developed content for YouTube featuring experts and researchers, as well as individuals who have coped with related issues, addressing questions such as “What do you say when you think someone may be struggling with an eating disorder?”

“Outside Google, YouTube is the single biggest driver of outreach to our helpline,” Johanna S. Kandel, founder and CEO of the National Alliance for Eating Disorders, writes.

The Jed Foundation – a mental health nonprofit – also worked with YouTube creators to develop a video series in which experts discuss topics like ADHD, anxiety and depression with popular creators.

The Child Mind Institute also partnered with YouTube on the initiative as an expansion of its “Project You Are Okay,” which the organization designed to speak directly to teens in a way that feels authentic and supportive.

YouTube’s initiative is being rolled out to teen users in the U.S., U.K, Canada, Mexico, France, and Australia over the coming weeks.