
Giving teens a roadmap to a life of mental health
Mental Health 101 gives teens the roadmap to a mentally healthy life! All teens need practical tools to navigate the difficult journey of life. Written by four leading experts, Mental Health 101 gives teens the roadmap and the tools!
$24.99
Watch an Interview with Lead Author Tom Thelen

The Top 10 Goals of Mental Health 101
- Mental Health 101 teaches teens how to talk with their parents or guardians when they need support, as well as how to reach out to other trusted adults or mental health professionals if needed.
- Mental Health 101 is non-controversial. The book does not promote any controversial ideas, political agendas, or religious agendas. The book promotes personal responsibility and healthy life choices.
- Mental Health 101 teaches positive behaviors and mental wellbeing skills like respect, responsibility, resiliency, and coping skills for stress and anxiety.
- Mental Health 101 prevents at-risk and self-destructive behaviors like self-harm, suicide, depression, and anxiety.
- Mental Health 101 makes a clear distinction between temporary feelings of anxiety or depression (which are common for all teens) and longer forms of clinical depression, which can only be diagnosed by a mental health professional.
- Mental Health 101 shows students how to get help if someone is having a mental health crisis, such as a panic attack or suicidal thoughts. The program also educates students on the most common mental illnesses, learning disorders, and disabilities.
- Mental Health 101 teaches students how to have respectful conversations, even when they disagree with someone.
- Mental Health 101 is non-judgmental, and it allows students to participate at their own comfort level.
- Mental Health 101 can be taught as a Tier-1 class for all middle school and high school students.
- Mental Health 101 is a research-based program that will soon become evidence-based, as we study the positive impact it has on school culture.
Meet The Authors
Mental Health 101 Table of Contents
- Meet the Authors
- What is Mental Health?
- Self-Esteem
- Mental Illness & Injury
- Coping with Grief & Loss
- Bullying
- Emotional Intelligence
- Empathy
- Basic Human Needs
- Self-Care
- Healthy Living
- Support Systems
- Personality
- Trauma
- Boundaries
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Coping Skills
- Suicide Prevention
- Mental Conditions & Disorders
- Autism
- Learning Disabilities
- Addiction & Self Harm
- Responsibility
- Resiliency
- Becoming Your Best Self
Endorsement from Principal Maurice Williams
on February 4, 2021
on December 23, 2020
on December 18, 2020
on December 29, 2020
on December 31, 2020
on February 12, 2020
Download our Free PDF
Download 7 Tools for Reducing Anxiety. This brief guide gives teens effective and practical tools that are proven to reduce anxiety and increase resiliency.

A Message From Tom Thelen
Hi, I’m Tom Thelen, lead author of Mental Health 101 for Teens. When I was a teen, I was overwhelmed with stress and anxiety. I was going through bullying at school and having trouble with my parents at home. (In other words, I was a fairly normal teen!) I just had some blind spots and bad habits. I was insecure, so I tried too hard to be the funny guy. When people hurt me, I shoved it down in my mind, and I didn’t let anything go. To summarize: I was a mess.
But I didn’t stay that way forever! I connected with my English Teacher, Mrs. Burdick, and she really helped change my way of thinking. The biggest eye opener was realizing that I can only change myself (not other people). So why not do that?!! With a choice between staying bitter or getting better, I chose the latter.
I got help. I got counseling. I started making some small changes in my behavior (stuff we’ll talk about in the book). Over the next year I basically became a new person… a stronger, kinder, better version of myself. I was less reactive to bullying, so most of my bullies just faded out. I was more respectful to my parents, and I started to feel fully alive again.
My life never became perfect (and it still isn’t perfect today) but it is a GREAT LIFE. And you have the same opportunity… to make slow incremental change over time, so your life grows and blossoms into a better version of you. That’s what Mental Health 101 is all about.
As a writing team of four authors, we come from different backgrounds and upbringings, but we all have one mission for the book: to give teens absolutely everything we have… every insight, every piece of advice, and every skill we wish we had back when we were young. So please, join us on the journey, and dive into our book, Mental Health 101 for Teens!
And if you’re an educator, we hope you’ll purchase our full curriculum and teacher’s guide, so you can use Mental Health 101 as a core class at your school!
Purchase our Whole-School Curriculum & Teacher's Guide
- Mental Health 101 eBook (unlimited downloads!)
- Classroom Discussion Guides for all chapters & sub-chapters
- Small Group Activities & Collaborative Conversations
- Student Journal Prompts for personal growth goals
- Family Discussion Guides in English, Spanish, & Chinese
- All this content is exclusive with your school membership

- Funding for this program is available through SAMHSA, Project AWARE, and The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.