This article is about anthropological research ethics amid the simultaneous hyper-valuation of young people’s voices and the disarticulation (the process of making inarticulate) of their mental health needs. I reflect on my experience of recording a podcast about mental health treatment with young people in a moral context where ‘voicework’ was prominent. Following feminist critiques of ‘voice’ and ‘choice’, I argue that critical concerns usually associated with ‘giving voice’—authenticity and empowerment—are limiting as means of ethically relating to needs, since they presume personhood rests on coherence, intentionality and articulate expression. Instead, I resolve to adopt a research ethics that focuses on articulating needs, rather than platforming voices. This account urges researchers—myself included—to do better in confronting the non-responsiveness of care systems.