Johns Hopkins Receives Funding to Study Adolescent Mental Health App
The grant will study the effectiveness of an adolescent mental health app in improving well-being and reducing anxiety and depression among teenagers.
Michelle Kaufman, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Health, Behavior and Society at the Johns ѻý received funding to study the effectiveness of an adolescent mental health app in improving well-being and reducing anxiety and depression among teenagers. The app is called Appa Health, a smartphone and computer-based mental health app for teens that combines delivery of mental health skills via engaging short-form educational videos with support from a mentor close in age who can provide structured guidance on how to apply the digital content.
Kaufman is co-lead on the grant along with Robert Miller, JD, CEO of Appa Health. The grant is funded by NIH’s National Institute for Mental Health and is part of NIH’s Direct to Phase II Small Business Innovation Research program, which allows companies that have already demonstrated the feasibility of their technology through prior funding to skip the initial research and development phase.
The mentors on the Appa Health app are young adults with hands-on experience working with youth, who can relate to teens and guide them on how to use the information they are interacting with in the videos in an easy-to-understand way. All mentors are trained college graduates, supervised by an experienced professional, and undergo background checks prior to starting. Mentors on the app can talk with the teens about common issues they may be experiencing, such as social anxiety, bullying, loneliness, family struggles, feelings of abandonment, and more. The videos feature social media therapists and faculty from leading institutions who break down mental health skills in ways that are relatable for teens.
“Appa Health’s innovation lies in combining accessible and targeted mentorship with youth-oriented and evidence-based video delivery to increase engagement with strategies to improve cognitive behavioral skills,” says Kaufman. “The skills will allow them to manage stress, emotions, and behaviors more effectively in a time where mental distress is at an all-time high for youth and access to services is hard to come by.”
The grant is a two-year study that launched on July 1, 2025, and will take part in two phases: researchers will first begin with a pilot study that will help to refine app procedures and user retention strategies. The second phase is a randomized clinical trial that will evaluate the app’s impact on depression, anxiety, well-being, and user engagement. The clinical trial will assess how well the full Appa Health experience—which includes mentorship combined with video content—compares to an “Appa Light” version that just contains videos without the mentorship component, as well as a waitlist control group, who receive information packets only until the trial concludes, at which time they will be given access to the full Appa Health experience.
Mental health services, including the ability to speak to a therapist, can be difficult to access for many teenagers, particularly with to see the right specialist. This study aims to determine the commercial viability and cost-effectiveness of the Appa Health app, particularly in education and employer markets seeking successful and scalable mental health tools.
