Q: Is there free mental health support for kids and teens in California?
A: Yes, and almost nobody knows it exists. The state funds two platforms outright, free to every California family, with no insurance, no referral and no waitlist.¹ ² BrightLife Kids covers ages 0–12: a parent or caregiver signs up and gets coaching sessions by chat, video or phone, plus help finding local services. Soluna covers ages 13–25, and the young person signs themselves up — which is the part that matters, because the teenager who most needs it is often the one who will not raise it at home. Both give you real humans, not chatbots, backed by a clinical team.¹ ² By December 2025 the two had run more than 112,000 coaching sessions across all 58 counties.¹
Worked example: your 15-year-old has been flat for a month, you have a $6,000 deductible, and the first therapist who called back has a wait until November. Soluna is free tonight, she can open it herself, and a coach can hold the line while you work on the longer route — the deductible does not apply, because the state has already paid.
Do this: know what it is and what it is not. This is coaching and support, not therapy, and neither app is a crisis service — for that it is 988, free and 24/7. Use it as the free layer underneath the search, not instead of it: how to find a therapist here without losing two weeks to voicemail →, and what therapy actually costs in California →.
Sources
- California Department of Health Care Services, Behavioral Health Virtual Services Platform — BrightLife Kids and Soluna: free statewide, "regardless of income, immigration status, or insurance coverage"; coaching by chat, video or phone; 500,000+ users and 112,000+ coaching sessions across all 58 counties as of December 2025 — dhcs.ca.gov. Verified 17 August 2026.
- California Department of Developmental Services: BrightLife Kids serves ages 0–12 with the parent or caregiver signing up; Soluna serves ages 13–25 with the young person signing up directly; "no cost, no waitlist and no referral is necessary" — dds.ca.gov. Soluna states plainly that it is coaching and peer support rather than therapy, and is not a crisis service — solunaapp.com. Verified 17 August 2026.