Expanding College Student Mental Health with Stress Management Mobile Technologies

The college years present a period of increased psychological distress for many Americans and college students report significant barriers to mental health treatment. The PI’s goal is to become an independent investigator with expertise in the creation and evaluation of behavioral intervention technologies (BITs) in order to broaden the scope of mental healthcare service availability within existing systems. This proposal outlines a plan to achieve this goal, through the culmination of training and research plans into a successful R01 proposal. The training plan takes full advantage of the strong institutional support and environment at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine and the Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies, which is led by the primary mentor for this proposal. Training goals necessary to the PI’s career goal include growth in (1) user-centered design for the development of BITs, (2) implementation science, (3) clinical science including qualitative research and new clinical research methodologies, and (4) advanced professional skills. This plan builds on the PI’s background in clinical psychology, which has focused on tele- mental health, stress management interventions, and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). In this K08, the PI will extend her work to include new populations (e.g. college students) and settings (college counseling centers) to increase the impact of her research through earlier intervention. The long-terms goal of the research is to integrate BITs into existing university healthcare settings, thus broadening the scope and reach of mental healthcare services. The research plan will develop and test a Student Stress Management (SSM) mobile program based within the framework of an evidence-based treatment for depression and anxiety. This program will increase engagement with mental health treatment, and supplement existing care by serving as an access point to more extensive mental health treatment options