Help seeking trends among children and young people are rapidly changing. Generations Z and Alpha, have their own unique preferences and expectations for help seeking, particularly in relation to their mental health and emotional wellbeing.

In recent years, Australia’s national helpline for children and young people, Kids Helpline, has seen seismic shifts in trends and patterns of help seeking by children and young people unlike any seen before in its 30 year history.

Joining us this week to take a dive into this shifting trend is Kathryn Mandla, Head of Advocacy and Research at yourtown.

In her role, Kathryn leads advocacy, data analytics, innovation, performance, evaluation, and research functions. She was previously the inaugural Head of the National Office for Child Safety in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Chair of the OECD Working Party on Social Policy from 2016-2019. Kathryn has also worked for the Queensland Government as a senior executive in child protection and headed up the Office for Women.

Stay tuned as Kathryn delves into what young people are telling us about their help seeking preferences, and to what extent traditional models of mental health service delivery remain relevant to today’s children and young people.