Mental Health Podcast by Teens, for Teens
There has been more advocacy for the Mental Health Matters movement than ever before. As society works towards becoming increasingly educated, there is also a growing awareness for self care and individual mental health, especially during quarantine, as people face feelings of loneliness and unease. Following this movement, a group of teens in Anaheim, California have found a way to talk about their own feelings of uncertainty and anxiety in a podcast called: Teenager Therapy.
Teenager Therapy’s slogan, “because we have problems too,” has never felt more relatable. The group consists of five high school seniors, four boys and one girl, and they give their opinions on serious topics that affect the average teenager.
The podcast started when teen Gael Aitor started paying attention to Couples Therapy, a podcast his mom listened to. He enjoyed it and thought it would be interesting to make a similar show with people his own age. Aitor wanted a podcast made for teens, by teens, so he brought together a group of his high school friends and started recording in his bedroom.
The group’s website describes the show as “five stressed, sleep deprived, yet energetic teens sit down and talk about the struggles that come with being a teenager.” The main goal of the show is to be relatable, yet also vulnerable. Aitor is quoted in the New York Times as saying, “We never really scripted anything or planned it out. We wanted the podcast to be raw and authentic. We want our listeners to feel like they are part of our friend group.”
Although they have gained recent popularity during quarantine and received exposure from the New York Times and Buzzfeed, Teenager Therapy has been actively creating content since September 23, 2018. They post weekly and have a total of 102 episodes that range in topics from talking about crushes, to black lives matter, sexuality, insecurity, ap classes, mental health, friendship, and essentially anything that teenagers are affected by.
The show has even featured some celebrity interviews. They spoke with musical.ly star Loren Gray about her struggles with an eating disorder and how fame has affected her. In an intimate interview with another musical.ly star Danielle Cohn, the teens discussed Cohn’s struggle with age rumors, parent drama, and her abortion. Tiktok star and Del Norte student Ellie Zeiler also has an interview on the podcast which discusses internet toxicity, copycat accusations, and what it’s like going viral.
The show is extremely candid, honest, and vulnerable. It is definitely worth a listen for anyone who is currently feeling alone, stressed, anxious, or just wants to know if other teens have similar opinions.
The group is active on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Twitter, and their episodes can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.