Presentations

Since 2007, our program coordinator has been going to local schools, groups and events to teach students and adults about mental health. While we adjust topics to teacher/school/organization preferences, here are some of the things we generally talk about:

• the facts about mental health and mental illness—how common mental illness is in general, as well as the most common mental illnesses in young people
• the signs and symptoms of common mental illnesses
• the impacts of having a parent or a family member with a mental illness
• the stigma around mental illness and history of treatment of mental illness
• how to be helpful to those with mental illnesses
• incorporating the characters of the movie “Inside Out” as a way to understand the emotional perspective of mental illness.

Feedback from our presentations

"I absolutely loved it! It was super inspiring. I’m a kid who suffers from depression and anxiety and hearing about what [the facilitator's] friend said and her using us as example really drew me into the presentation. […] I’m really glad Kris came in today because it really helped me and a few other kids. […] I was really happy to see the impact it put on my friends and I. You never know what someone’s going through and being able to see someone smile is heartwarming."
​– student, 2019

"She figures out how to be funny sometimes, even when she talks about serious things."
​– student, 2019

"I just want to take a moment to say thank you. I appreciate you coming in to speak to our kids, and the connection you make with them is unbelievable. You are seriously the coolest person I ever met, and I appreciate what you do."
​– Angela G., Ridgefield High School teacher

"Thank you for coming. You were a great speaker and you're very kind. I'm sorry you had to go through that but I learned so much from you so thank you!"
​– student, 2018

"Thank you for coming in today. I had a rough day and you made it a lot better."
– student, 2018

"Hi! [...] I would like to take a moment to thank you for all that you do. Your presentation was truly amazing. I absolutely loved it and it changed my life forever. I learned that there are so many people in worse situations than me and it made me realize how lucky I am. [...] TeenTalk is a very useful youth mental health aid, and I believe that more people can use it. You had so many interesting topics to talk about! It was an outstanding presentation and I can't express my gratitude in words for all that you do! [...] I hope to get the chance to work with you."
– student, 2016

In 2019:

More than

students 
​​learned about youth mental health from classroom trainings and workshops