Student mental health has become a big enough worry that 82% of US parents in a new Grow Therapy survey say they have sought professional support for their child, up from 62% a year earlier. The survey also found that more children are struggling, and that the hardest part is often getting a child to accept help, not finding it. Indian research points the same way, with one big difference: in India, the gap between needing help and asking for it is much wider.
Key Facts at a Glance
- Grow Therapy, a US mental health care provider, surveyed 1,386 US parents of children under 18 online between 17 and 21 July 2026; the results were published on 8 October 2026.
- About 82% of parents said they had sought professional mental health support for their child, compared with 62% in the 2025 edition.
- 47% said their child showed noticeable stress, anxiety or sadness during the school year, up from 41%.
- Peer problems (47%) and bullying or exclusion (37%) were reported more often than academic pressure (36%).
- The year-on-year comparison used a different sample and method, so the survey itself describes the changes as directional, not exact.
- In India, only 41% of 15–24-year-olds said it is good to seek support for mental health problems, against a 21-country average of 83% (UNICEF–Gallup, 2021).
- India’s free national mental health helpline, Tele-MANAS, can be reached on 14416 or 1800-891-4416.
What the Grow Therapy Survey Found
The survey found that parents are no longer leaning only on family and friends when their child struggles. According to the report published via Stacker on 8 October 2026, parents use an average of 2.35 sources of support, and 63% include at least one clinical source, such as a school counsellor or a therapist.
Family and friends are still the most common source, named by 52% of parents with a school-age child. But only 10% rely on family and friends alone. Most combine them with professional help.
The numbers that rose
Nearly every indicator of stress went up compared with 2025:
- Parents reporting at least one stressor affecting their child: 80%, up from 64%.
- Peer and social challenges: 47%, up from 34%.
- Bullying or exclusion: 37%, up from 23%.
- Academic workload and pressure: 36%, up from 30%.
The pattern is worth noticing. Friendships and belonging worried parents more than marks did. For students, that is a useful reminder that feeling left out is a real stressor, not a minor one.
Parents feel today’s children face more pressure
Some 63% of parents with school-age children said their child faces more pressure to succeed than they did at the same age, and 31% said it is much more. The top future worry was not grades or college admission. It was their child’s happiness and mental well-being, named by 59% of parents, ahead of a stable career (47%) and getting into college (39%).
What parents want from schools
Schools are part of the picture, and many parents think they are falling short. In the survey, 45% said their child’s school does some, but not enough, to support student mental health, and 13% said it does nothing. Parents asked for:
- More mental health education and awareness programmes (44%).
- Better communication between school and parents about well-being (41%).
- Anti-bullying programmes or stronger enforcement (37%).
- Access to a school counsellor or psychologist (36%).
Younger parents are also turning to newer sources. Among parents aged 18–29, 19% used AI chatbots and 25% used social media or online communities for support, compared with 6% and 10% of parents aged 46 and older.
A caution on reading the data
Grow Therapy sells therapy services, so it has an interest in the topic. The 2025 survey was run differently (752 parents through YouGov, with weighting), and the 2026 data is unweighted. Treat the jump from 62% to 82% as a sign of direction, not a precise measurement.
The Real Barrier: Getting a Child to Accept Help
The biggest change in the survey was not cost or waiting lists. It was the child’s own resistance. The share of parents who named their child’s unwillingness as a barrier rose from 11% to 28%.
Other barriers also grew:
- Not knowing where to start: 19% to 29%.
- Cost or insurance: 18% to 26%.
- Long waiting lists: 15% to 22%.
- Feeling judged by others: 8% to 20%.
The report notes that these relationship barriers (resistance and fear of judgement) grew about twice as fast as practical ones. In plain terms: help is easier to find than it is to accept. That matters for students too, because the decision to talk to someone often rests with you.
Student Mental Health in India: What Indian Studies Show
Indian research shows a similar level of distress among students but much lower willingness to seek help. The US survey describes a culture that is moving toward professional support. The Indian evidence describes one where stigma still holds many families back.
Only 41% of young Indians think seeking help is a good idea
In a UNICEF and Gallup survey released on 5 October 2021, covering 20,000 people across 21 countries, only 41% of Indians aged 15 to 24 said it is good to get support for mental health problems. The average across all 21 countries was 83%. India was the only country where less than half of young people agreed. The same survey found that about 1 in 7 young Indians often felt depressed or had little interest in doing things.
Stigma is the most common barrier, says a 2026 review
A systematic review led by The George Institute for Global Health, published in SSM – Mental Health in June 2026, looked at 26 studies from cities and states including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune, Odisha, Bihar and Assam. It found stigma was the barrier reported most often. Fear of being judged or labelled stops many adolescents from talking about how they feel.
The review also found that:
- Students, parents and teachers often miss warning signs or don’t know when professional help is needed.
- Family attitudes, community views and school environments can all discourage help-seeking.
- Many adolescents worry that what they say to a counsellor won’t stay private, so they turn to friends first.
- School-based mental health programmes improved awareness, reduced stigma and increased help-seeking.
Look at the overlap with the US data. Indian parents and students face the same relationship barriers the Grow Therapy survey found: fear of judgement and reluctance to start the conversation. The difference is that in India, these barriers have been strong for longer.
How common are mental health problems among Indian teenagers?
The most recent national figure comes from the National Mental Health Survey 2015–16, run by NIMHANS, Bengaluru, across 12 states. It found that about 7.3% of 13–17-year-olds had a mental health disorder, a figure the Union Health Ministry repeated in the Lok Sabha in December 2025. That data is a decade old, and a new national survey is needed.
Academic pressure shows up clearly in Indian school research. A 2025 review by Shayana Deb and Sibnath Deb in the Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools cites an earlier study of Class 10 and 12 science students. In that study, 96.3% took private tuition, 42% had four or more tutors, and 81.6% reported exam-related anxiety. The authors note that most Indian schools still have no mental health support and very few have appointed psychologists.
Why this matters
The stakes are high. According to the National Crime Records Bureau’s Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India 2023 report, 13,892 students died by suicide in 2023, about 8.1% of all suicides in the country. Behind every number is a student who might have been helped by an earlier conversation. If you are struggling right now, please reach out to Tele-MANAS on 14416 or to someone you trust today.
What Indian Schools Are Now Required to Do
Indian schools and colleges now have legal duties on student mental health. In July 2025, in Sukdeb Saha v. State of Andhra Pradesh, the Supreme Court issued binding guidelines for educational institutions, including coaching centres. The key ones for students and parents:
- Institutions with 100 or more students must have at least one qualified counsellor, psychologist or social worker. Smaller ones must have referral links to outside professionals.
- Helpline numbers, including Tele-MANAS, must be displayed in hostels, classrooms, common areas and on websites.
- Coaching centres should avoid separating batches by marks, publicly shaming students, and setting unrealistic targets.
- All staff must be trained at least twice a year in psychological first aid and spotting warning signs.
- Institutions must run regular awareness programmes for parents and guardians.
CBSE followed up in August 2025 with a circular asking schools to display the Tele-MANAS numbers and QR code near counsellor rooms, notice boards and libraries. Tele-MANAS, launched on 10 October 2022, had handled over 23 lakh calls by then and works in 20 languages.
If your school or college has no visible counsellor or helpline poster, you are within your rights to ask why.
What This Means for Students
For students, the main lesson from both the US and Indian data is that starting the conversation is usually the hardest step, and the most useful one. Here is a practical way to do it.
If you are the one struggling
- Pick one person. It can be a parent, an older sibling, a teacher or a school counsellor. You don’t need to tell everyone.
- Start small. “I’ve been feeling really stressed and I’m not sure why” is enough. You don’t need a label or a reason.
- Ask about privacy upfront. If confidentiality worries you, ask the counsellor what stays between you and what doesn’t. A good counsellor will explain this clearly.
- Use Tele-MANAS if talking face-to-face feels too hard. Call 14416. It is free, available in 20 languages, and staffed by trained mental health professionals.
- Don’t treat an AI chatbot as a counsellor. A chatbot can help you put feelings into words, but it cannot replace a trained person.
If you are worried about a friend
- Check in privately: “You’ve seemed off lately. Want to talk?”
- Listen more than you advise.
- If they mention hopelessness or hurting themselves, tell a trusted adult straight away, even if they asked you to keep it secret.
What Parents Can Do
Parents can make help easier to accept by lowering the cost of talking about it. A few practical steps based on both the US survey and the Indian research:
- Ask about friends, not only marks. Peer problems and exclusion topped the Grow Therapy list of stressors.
- Watch for change, not single bad days. A shift in sleep, appetite, mood or energy that lasts for weeks matters more than one tough evening.
- Talk about counselling as normal. Calling it “talking to someone who helps students with stress” reduces the stigma the George Institute review identified.
- Ask the school what support it offers. Under the Supreme Court guidelines, larger institutions must have a counsellor and a mental health policy.
- Protect unstructured time. Parents in the survey said time with friends (52%) and time outdoors (50%) helped their children most, ahead of structured activities.
If a child talks about hopelessness or self-harm, seek professional help immediately. This article is for information only and is not a substitute for advice from a doctor, psychologist or counsellor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What did the Grow Therapy 2026 parent survey find?
Ans. The Grow Therapy survey of 1,386 US parents, published on 8 October 2026, found that about 82% had sought professional mental health support for their child, up from 62% in 2025. It also found that 47% of parents saw noticeable stress, anxiety or sadness in their child during the school year.
Q. Why don’t Indian students seek help for mental health problems?
Ans. Stigma is the most common reason, according to a June 2026 systematic review of 26 Indian studies led by The George Institute for Global Health. Low awareness of warning signs, family attitudes, worries about confidentiality and a shortage of counsellors also hold students back.
Q. Is there a free mental health helpline for students in India?
Ans. Yes. Tele-MANAS, the government’s free national tele-mental health service, can be reached on 14416 or 1800-891-4416. It works in 20 languages and is staffed by trained mental health professionals.
Q. Do Indian schools have to provide a counsellor?
Ans. Yes, for larger institutions. Under the Supreme Court’s July 2025 guidelines in Sukdeb Saha v. State of Andhra Pradesh, any institution with 100 or more students must have at least one qualified counsellor, psychologist or social worker. Smaller institutions must have referral links to outside professionals.
Q. How can I tell my parents I need mental health help?
Ans. Choose a calm moment and keep the first sentence simple, such as “I’ve been feeling really stressed and I think I need to talk to someone.” If speaking to a parent feels too hard, start with a school counsellor, a teacher you trust or Tele-MANAS on 14416.
Next Steps
Student mental health support works best when it starts early, before stress turns into a crisis. This week, find out who the counsellor is at your school or college and save 14416 in your phone, whether you need it now or not. We will keep tracking new research on student mental health from India and abroad, so check back for updates.