Project YES (Youth Empowerment & Support) 

Teens (ages 11-17)

Project YES ​(Youth Empowerment & Support) offers free, anonymous, brief, self-guided online mental health tools for teens. Project YES is designed to empower teens to learn new ways of dealing with stress while helping others do the same. Project YES offers brief, evidence-based tools that young people can use independently. No account is required, and the platform includes built-in connections to crisis and community resources when additional support is needed. 

• Agency/Affiliation: Lab for Scalable Mental Health, Northwestern University
• Website: https://www.tryprojectyes.org/lsmh/
• Email: lsmh@northwestern.edu

Manual Information

There is a manual that describes how to deliver this program.

• Note: The following study was not included in rating Project YES (Youth Empowerment & Support)  on the Scientific Rating Scale.

  Schleider, J. L., Dobias, M., Sung, J., Mumper, E., & Mullarkey, M. C. (2020). Acceptability and utility of an open-access, online single-session intervention platform for adolescent mental health. JMIR Mental Health, 7(6), Article e20513. https://doi.org/10.2196/20513 

  Summary:

  The purpose of the study was to evaluate the perceived acceptability and proximal effects of Project YES (Youth Empowerment & Support), an open-access platform offering three online single session interventions (SSIs) for youth internalizing distress. Participants received Project YES. Measures utilized include the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire—Short (SMFQ), State Hope Scale, Beck Hopelessness Scale-4 (BHS-4), Self Hate Scale, Program Feedback Scale (PFS), and study-developed questionnaires measuring Perceived Change in Hopelessness and Problem-Solving and Perceived Control. Results indicate that regardless of single session intervention (SSI) selection, completers reported pre- to post-program reductions in hopelessness, self-hate, perceived control, and agency. Youths rated all SSIs as acceptable (eg, enjoyable, likely to help peers). Limitations include the lack of a control group, , selection bias, and lack of follow-up. Note: This article was not used in the rating process due to the lack of a control group.

• Note: The following study was not included in rating Project YES (Youth Empowerment & Support)  on the Scientific Rating Scale.

  Schleider, J. L., Dobias, M., Sung, J., Mumper, E., & Mullarkey, M. C. (2020). A digital single-session intervention platform for youth mental health: Cultural adaptation, evaluation, and dissemination. JMIR Mental Health, 10, Article e43062. https://doi.org/10.2196/43062 

  Summary:

  The purpose of the study was to culturally adapt, disseminate, and gauge the acceptability and utility of a digital mental health platform, Project Youth Empowerment and Support (YES), among English- and Spanish-speaking youths living in South Texas. Participants received Project YES. Measures utilized include the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire—Short (SMFQ), State Hope Scale, Beck Hopelessness Scale-4, Self-hate Scale, Program Feedback Scale (PFS), and a study-developed questionnaire measuring Perceived Change in Hopelessness and Problem-solving. Results indicate that San Antonio youths rated Project YES as highly acceptable across all metrics, both in English and Spanish. In addition, the youths who completed Project YES—ENGLISH reported significant improvements in hopelessness. Limitations include the lack of a control group and a lack of follow-up. Note: This article was not used in the rating process due to the lack of a control group.

There are currently no references available for Project YES (Youth Empowerment & Support) .