Suicide claims almost one life a week in the Northern Territory and young Indigenous Australians are making up the bulk of those statistics.

Clinical psychologist Jade Gooding said the increasing rate is an issue that needs to be tackled and early intervention is key.

"We are seeing more suicide in this generation than ever before," she said.

"What ever the government has done hasn't worked, it is a big concern."

Katherine's best bet at lessening the burden of mental illness in young people in the region has been open for just over one month and is already seeing a steady influx of youth seeking help.

Headspace, an early intervention support service for people aged between 12 and 25 years, has opened in the centre of Katherine and is being used as many would hope.

"We have had a lot more interest than we thought we would," Ms Gooding said.

"Lots of young people are dropping in everyday to use the youth zone, either to charge their phone or have something to eat. Referrals have also been coming in almost every day."

She said the demand is a clear signal of what youth in the region need.

"Young people know what is going on in this space and they want to do something about it."

A recent report by Mission Australia and Black Dog Institute has found one in five young Territorians are experiencing psychological distress.

The report examined the concerns, general wellbeing and help-seeking behaviours of close to 27,000 youth aged 15-19 years-old and found females in the NT were far more likely than males to experience psychological distress.

But similar levels of psychological distress were experienced by both Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous young people.

Ms Gooding said there needs to be an increased focus on early intervention, and that meant sending Headspace teams into the community to engage with youth while also upskilling schools, parents and organisations on how to encourage wellbeing.

"We know the first place young people go if they are experiencing distress is their peers and their parents," she said.

"The faster we can up-skill the people and groups closest to youth the better."

As well as providing clinical mental health services at the hub, Headspace will be engaging schools and sporting clubs in the Katherine region to improve mental health literacy.

The Northern Territory's regional leader for Mission Australia Michael Soler said youth mental health is a "serious" national challenge "that must be tackled as a priority".

He said the latest findings on psychological distress reinforce the importance of programs which offer early intervention and support for young people.

"We need to let them know that they are not alone, provide access to information, opportunities to develop their skills and above all build their trust.

"The sheer number of young people who are struggling with mental health difficulties shows that there remains an urgent need for improved services here in the Northern Territory and around the country.

"Irrespective of their location, background or gender, young people must have the resources they need to manage their individual mental health concerns with access to youth-friendly and evidence-based mental health supports."

Over 75 per cent of mental health issues develop before the age of 25, bringing about lifelong consequences.

The question remains, why?

"We are still in the dark as to why mental health and suicide risk has increased in our current cohort of youth, a finding that is not unique to Australia," Black Dog Institute director and chief scientist, professor Helen Christensen said

"Adolescence is a critical time in which to intervene, but we also know that young people experiencing psychological distress can be harder to reach.

She said the report shows young people in distress seek help from three main sources: friends, peers and the internet.

"We need to continue to provide online and app-based tools that may be a key part of the solution," she said.

"We also need to catch the problems upstream by prioritising early intervention and prevention efforts."

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