​Welcome to Project YES!

Youth Empowerment & Support


​Project YES ​(Youth Empowerment & Support) offers free, anonymous, brief, self-guided mental health tools for teens. YES empowers teens to learn new ways of dealing with stress while helping others do the same.

Project YES was designed with teens (ages 11-17) in mind, but people of all ages are welcome to try the tools in Project YES, anywhere and anytime. 
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Project YES is run by scientists at the Lab for Scalable Mental Health, with partners at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the University of Miami, Lebanese American University, and Ankara University.

YES Advice Center | YES User Guide | Clinical Research


​​There are 3 steps to Project YES.


​Step 1: Choose an activity. Try one of four ​20 minute programs​​, designed to support mental health.


​​Step 2: Tell us what you think. Before and after each activity, we will give you the option to answer some questions about your mood, your thoughts, and what you thought of the activity. 


​Step 3: Share your advice with others. Share your best advice for others who may be struggling, and see it posted on this page ​for others to see!

Click HERE to read advice we've already received from teens! 

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​Video Guides for Project YES Users

Clinical Research: ​Peer-Reviewed Publications


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​Randomized Evaluation of an Online Single-Session Intervention for Minority Stress in LGBTQ+ Youth

Shen et al., 2023, Internet Interventions
Funded by the National Institute of Mental Health

We tested the effectiveness and acceptability of Project RISE, an online single-session intervention designed to ameliorate internalized stigma and improve other outcomes among LGBTQ+ youth. In a randomized trial, youth who completed Project RISE reported decreases in internalized stigma, deceases in hopelessness, and increases in identity pride from baseline to two-week follow up, compared to an education-only control.

Read the Full Study Here
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​Effects of an Online Growth Mindset Single-Session Intervention on Hopelessness, Self-Hate, and Perception of Control in Arabic Adolescents

Buchlmayer et al., 2024, Psi Chi Journal

A culturally-adapted"growth mindset" single-session intervention (Project Personality) was associated with significant improvements in hopelessness, self-hate, and perceived control among  Lebanese and Syrian refugee youth. Arab adolescents rated the intervention as feasible, enjoyable, and likely to help other youth. This study provides the first evidence in the Arab world of the mental health benefits of a culturally-acceptable growth mindset intervention.

Read the Full Study Here
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​Predicting Transdiagnostic Symptom Change Across Diverse Demographic Groups in Single-Session Interventions for Adolescent Depression

McDanal et al., 2024, Clinical Psychological Science
Funded by the National Institute of Mental Health

Single-session interventions within Project YES were equally effective among youths (N = 2,452, ages 13-16) with myriad marginalized identities (e.g., Black, asexual, gender minority) compared to their counterparts (e.g., non-Hispanic White, heterosexual, cisgender), and regardless of age and subjective school social status. 

Read the Full Study Here
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​A Digital Single-Session Intervention Platform for Youth Mental Health: Cultural Adaptation, Evaluation, and Dissemination
Shroff et al., 2023, JMIR Mental Health
Funded by the City of San Antonio Metropolitan Health District

Spanish- and English-speaking teens in San Antonio, Texas who completed a culturally-adapted version of Project YES (N = 894, ages 11-17) reported significant improvements in hopelessness, self-hate, perceived control, and agency, regardless of which single-session intervention they completed. Results show that Project YES is an acceptable, useful support for English-and Spanish-speaking San Antonio youth.

Read the Full Study Here
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​A Randomized Trial of Online Single-Session Interventions for Adolescent Depression during COVID-19
Schleider et al., 2022, Nature Human Behaviour
Funded by the National Institute of Mental Health

In a nationwide randomized trial during COVID-19 (N = 2,452 teens, ages 13-16), two of the online single-session interventions in Project YES (Project Personality; ABC Project) significantly reduced depression symptoms, hopelessness, anxiety, and restrictive eating 3 months later (ps < .001), compared to a supportive control. 

Read the Full Study Here
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Acceptability and Utility of an ​Open-Access, Online Single Session Intervention Platform for Adolescent Mental Health
Schleider et al., 2020, JMIR Mental Health
Funded by the National Institutes of Health Office of the Director

Teens who took part in Project YES (N = 187, ages 11-17) reported significant improvements in hopelessness, self-hate, perceived control, and agency (ps < .001), regardless of which single-session intervention they completed. Users rated all programs as acceptable (eg, enjoyable, likely to help peers).

Read the Full Study Here
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Associations of LGBTQ+ Identities with Acceptability and Efficacy of Online Single-Session Youth Mental Health Interventions 
McDanal et al., 2021, Behavior Therapy
Funded by the National Institutes of Health Office of the Director

LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ youth who took part in Project YES (N=258, 60.5% LGBTQ+, 47.3% youth of Color) reported equal benefits across all clinical outcomes (hopelessness, self-hate, perceived control, agency). Additionally, LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ youth found Project YES equally acceptable and helpful.

Read the Full Study Here
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For questions about Project YES, or inquiries about using intervention materials for non-commercial purposes,
please contact us.

Project YES was classified as 'non-human subjects research' by the Institutional Review Board (as a program evaluation) at Northwestern University.

All materials related to Project YES (Project Personality; The ABC Project; Project CARE) are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.

You are free to copy, distribute, adapt, or build upon materials from Project YES for non-commercial purposes only, so long as you cite our materials, provide a link to the license (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/), and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor(s) endorses you or your use.