Our story
It started with a simple question.
What if young people had somewhere to turn before they reached a breaking point? A place where no referral or appointment is needed. Simply a place where someone listens before small worries can grow into bigger problems. That idea is what led to the creation of @ease.
While working as psychiatrists, the founders of @ease, Dr. Rianne Klaassen and Prof. Dr. Thérèse van Amelsvoort, often saw young people receive help only after their problems had already worsened. Not because there was no help available, but because the step towards seeking it was too difficult or appropriate support was not available in time.
An experience that always stayed with Rianne was the care she provided to a 16-year-old boy who ended up in an adult ward.
Rianne: “That’s when I thought: there must be a different way to do this.”
For Thérèse, the same conviction grew out of her work as a psychiatrist in England and the Netherlands, as well as from her personal life. She saw the painful consequences when her younger brother received help for psychosis too late.
Thérèse: “We often wait until things go really wrong. Yet that is precisely the stage of life when you want to make a difference.”
Why an accessible place is so important
75% of mental health problems develop before the age of 25. Yet many young people do not find the right support in time. Shame, uncertainty, waiting lists, or simply not knowing where to start can cause problems to worsen unnecessarily.
Especially when problems arise, an accessible place to talk can make all the difference.
That is why @ease offers young people aged 12 to 25 a safe environment where they can talk for free, without an appointment, and in confidence with trained peer listeners. It is not a replacement for professional care, but a complement to it.
Our approach
@ease was developed with and for young people. We believe that the barrier to talking about mental health becomes lower when a young person feels welcome, heard, and understood.
That’s why young people at @ease talk to trained peer listeners: young adult volunteers who are close to their world and experiences. They listen without judgment, ask questions, and help young people make sense of their thoughts and feelings. For many young people, even a single conversation is enough to feel calmer, gain more clarity, or build confidence.
Our approach is tailored to what each young person needs. We don’t take over their problems, but instead strengthen the resilience they already have. By making feelings easier to talk about and normalizing them, we help prevent young people from carrying their worries around for longer than necessary.
When it becomes clear during a conversation that more support is needed, we work together to determine the most appropriate next step. We do not provide diagnoses or assessments, but with the support of our professional backup team and local network, we help young people find the right support.
Why does @ease work?
The strength of @ease lies in the combination of peer support, professional guidance, and a scientific basis.
Young people often find it less intimidating to talk to a peer than to seek professional help directly. At the same time, a healthcare professional and a supervising psychiatrist are always available in the background to provide guidance when needed.
This approach gained international recognition in 2025, when the OECD named @ease one of the 11 best practices for youth mental health across 65 countries.
Built on science and practice
From the very beginning, @ease has worked closely with Maastricht University on scientific research into young people’s mental health and the effects of accessible peer support.
When developing @ease, the founders were inspired by headspace Australia, an internationally leading initiative in the field of youth mental health. During visits to headspace Denmark, they discovered an approach that aligned more closely with their own vision, with a key role for trained volunteers.
Our mission
@ease ensures that no young person has to face things alone when life isn’t going so well.
We offer young people aged 12 to 25 a warm, safe, and accessible place where they feel heard, seen, and supported. A conversation is not the goal in itself, but a means of strengthening mental resilience, confidence, and quality of life.
Our vision
We believe that young people become stronger when they can turn, in a timely manner, to a place where they feel safe, heard, and supported.
At @ease, peer-to-peer conversations are at the heart of our approach. Young people talk to peers who understand their world and experiences. This creates space for recognition, normalization, and strengthening mental resilience.
A nationwide movement
@ease was never intended to be an organization that works alone. From the beginning, we have worked together with Maastricht UMC+, Maastricht University, Amsterdam UMC, and many other partners in healthcare, academia, education, and the social support sector. This collaboration continues to form the foundation of our organization.
By now, @ease has grown into a nationwide network of drop-in spaces and an online chat, where young people can talk to someone for free, without an appointment, and in confidence.
This is only possible thanks to the commitment of municipalities, foundations, volunteers, professionals, educational institutions, and community organizations. Through this collaboration, young people across more and more places in the Netherlands can find a listening ear.
@ease also actively seeks collaboration beyond its own organization. As one of the founding partners of In je bol, we work together with other organizations to build a stronger ecosystem for young people’s mental health.
Curious about what @ease can do for your organization, municipality, or network? We would love to discuss this with you. Feel free to contact us.