Berry

The mental health crisis among teens isn’t new—but the way we’re handling it is dangerously outdated. Today’s solutions are largely reactive. We pour resources into crisis hotlines, psychiatrists, and post-breakdown interventions, while the real damage happens quietly, in the weeks and months before anyone notices something is wrong. It’s a system built to respond to collapse, not prevent it. Meanwhile, pop culture has glamorized “trauma talk.” Teens casually swap diagnoses on TikTok like badges of honor, but rarely take steps toward healing. It’s easier to identify as broken than to build back stronger. Conventional therapy only reaches the few who can afford it, navigate stigma, and feel comfortable opening up to an adult stranger. Everyone else is left with mindfulness apps that feel like school assignments—generic, detached, and ultimately ineffective.

Traditional therapy falls short in key ways: it’s expensive, inaccessible, and rarely 24/7. Most teens can’t open up to adult therapists, especially when the quality of care varies wildly and the advice often lacks specificity or actionability. Stigma still looms large, keeping many from seeking help at all. The numbers show the scale of the failure: 42% of U.S. high schoolers reported persistent sadness or hopelessness in 2021—a 40% increase over a decade. One in five teens faces a severe mental disorder. Suicide is now the second leading cause of death among teens. And therapy, when available, can cost upwards of $250 an hour, not to mention logistical barriers like parental consent and scheduling conflicts.

But the roots of teen distress run deeper than access issues or even brain chemistry. What’s actually fueling the spike in anxiety and depression is a relentless loop of insecurity. Teens are trapped in systems that measure their worth constantly—grades, follower counts, likes, retweets, and parental praise. These feedback loops amplify three core fears: “I’m not good enough,” “I’ll end up alone,” and “I don’t deserve love.” These beliefs harden over time, turning into emotional distress, self-harm, and disconnection. And our mental health infrastructure isn’t built to interrupt that loop early enough. Instead, it lets teens spiral until it’s almost too late.

I’ve interviewed over 300 teens—50 in just two weeks—to understand exactly what they need. I’m working with elite developers and designers from Gauntlet AI, First Principles, and AE Studio. I’ve already shipped a working proof-of-concept: a scrappy but functional plushie with a speaker/mic system and prompt-engineered Gemini 2.0 backend. The app’s wireframe is done, and the companion interface is being designed with full voice-to-text, emotional memory, and task follow-through logic.

The vision is resonating. I’ve received validation and support from some of the most respected minds in AI and mental health: Dario Amodei (Anthropic), Brad Smith (Microsoft), Snap’s wellness team, David Yeager, Dan Shipper (who’s featuring me on his podcast), Sahil Bloom, and more. I’ve spoken at Web Summit, secured grant support from 1517 Fund, Cactus Capital, and Alpha School (>$20k), and locked in full API access from Hume AI. I also just secured a strategic partnership with a major influencer with 2 million followers.