Talk Heals.
Kids were – and are – experiencing a crisis. Depression and anxiety doubled during the pandemic. By 2021, ERs reported suicide attempts among adolescent girls were up 51% over the prior year. The State of Arizona, which commissioned the work below, ranked 49th in youth mental health at the time. The crisis wasn’t – and isn’t – all because of COVID’s disruptions. And social media is only partly to blame. The best data suggests social interactions are critical to young people’s well-being – and now, even the right kind of interactions are online. So, using tools and images 12- to 14-year olds are intimately familiar with, our team attempted to teach the skills for starting important conversations with people kids trust. And I truly hope it did some good.
The talkheals.org website was designed to feel less like a website and more like an SMS or WhatsApp interaction with a friend.
The content provides a kids with steps to identify the most trustworthy adults in their lives and communication skills to help them gain the confidence they’ll need to have difficult conversations about mental health.
At each step in the process, kids can instantly bail out and talk or text with a counselor at the national 988 Suicide & Crisis prevention hotline, or explore other resources for mental health services in their immediate area.
Project Details
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Art Directors: Debbie Zapatka, Andrew Enzweiler, Greg Trotter
Addt’l Copy: Amy Delaney
Character Illustrations: Andrew Enzweiler
Agency Producer: Robert Farthing
Account Mgmt: Christina Stone & Claire Sherriff
CCO: Tom Ortega
My Role: Creative Director/Copywriter
3D/Animation/VFX: Wesley Galvin @ VIZTEK
Audio: Sam Esparza @ BigU -
AAF Phoenix, Gold & Silver, VFX and Animation