Youth mental health care in Barcelona has increased by 59% since the launch of EstarB in October 2025, a municipal service aimed at adolescents and young people aged between 12 and 25 that was created to give continuity to Aquí t"escoltem and Konsulta"m. In its first month it registered 353 actions and in February 2026 it reached 541.
The program adds an average of 399 individual attentions per month, above the 251 that were being carried out on average during the eight months prior to its implementation. The growth in demand has led the service to now operate with an approximate waiting list of one month, a situation that affects all districts of the city.
More demand and team reinforcement
EstarB completes five months of its journey in a context of increasing emotional distress among adolescents. To respond to this increase, the service has doubled its psychological care capacity and has gone from 5 to 10 psychologists. It has also extended the reception hours of the educational team to absorb the 541 individual attentions registered in February.
Marçal Castellvell, educator of the service, maintains that there is a clear need for this resource and points out that the program has already consolidated in the city. The team's forecast is to complete that consolidation in September.
"The service is used, and the situation is one of consolidation" - Marçal Castellvell, educator of EstarB
Castellvell also highlights the closeness of the device with young people.
"We speak the same language as the young people who come" - Marçal Castellvell, educator at EstarB
A predominantly female profile and focused on anxiety
The average age of the users is 17.4 years. 68% are girls, 30% are boys, and 1.7% consider themselves non-binary. Among the main reasons for consultation are anxiety management, apathy, vital demotivation, and discomfort in the family environment.
Regarding the difference between boys and girls in access to the resource, Castellvell observes that they have more difficulties verbalizing what is happening to them and showing themselves vulnerable. She also warns of the emotional impact of loneliness on a hyperconnected generation.
"You can be watching thousands of videos of other people, but you do it all alone on the sofa. You have to learn that you don't have to socialize in a certain way, but in your own way" - Marçal Castellvell, educator at EstarB
For now, the service has not attended to cases of young people in a situation of homelessness, although it does not rule out receiving them later on.
From educational reception to psychological sessions
The care circuit starts with an initial reception by an educator. From there, the adolescents move on to the team of psychologists. The service usually offers between 8 and 12 sessions, distributed over two weeks.
Aicha Belarbi, psychologist at EstarB, works with users on issues related to anxiety, emotional education and the use of technology, including the daily time they dedicate to their mobile phone or computer. In that work they also address body perception and the messages they receive through screens and networks.
"That body image is not reality" - Aicha Belarbi, psychologist at EstarB
The professional emphasizes that many adolescents especially value that the resource functions as a protected and reserved space. From the age of 14, furthermore, the user no longer has to explain at home that they attend the service.
"It does me a lot of good to come here to talk" - usual user response collected by Aicha Belarbi, psychologist at EstarB
The waiting list is already around a month throughout Barcelona, an indicator of the care pressure the program is under and, at the same time, of the implementation it has achieved in a few months. For the team, the key now is to consolidate a resource that has become a reference for adolescents and young people looking for a safe and confidential space to explain what is happening to them in their daily lives.