Bringing a clinician-guided digital CBT program to minority teens at school health centers

Expanding minority youth access to evidence-based care: A pilot effectiveness trial of a digital mental health intervention

NIH-funded research New York University School of Medicine · NIH-11121084

This offers a clinician-guided app called SilverCloud to help minority adolescents with anxiety or depression get therapy through their school health center.

Quick facts

Grant typeNIH-funded research
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionNew York University School of Medicine NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (New York, United States)
Project IDNIH-11121084 on NIH RePORTER

What this research studies

You would be offered access to SilverCloud, a clinician-guided, app-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) program through your school-based health center. A school clinician helps guide you through personalized modules, stories, and feedback designed to address anxiety and depression while protecting privacy and reducing travel or cost burdens. The project is a pilot that will check whether delivering this digital program in schools is practical, acceptable, and helpful for vulnerable teens. Participation focuses on students from minority backgrounds who face barriers to traditional mental health care.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Ideal candidates are adolescents served by school-based health centers, particularly minority youth experiencing symptoms of anxiety or depression who want low-cost or more private care options.

Not a fit: Youth with severe psychiatric crises, active suicidality, or those needing intensive in-person services may not benefit from or be appropriate for this app-based program.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this could make effective, evidence-based therapy easier for minority adolescents to access by providing convenient, private, school-based digital CBT with clinician support.

How similar studies have performed: SilverCloud and other clinician-guided digital CBT programs have shown good engagement and medium-to-large effects in prior trials, though few studies have tested delivery specifically through school-based health centers for vulnerable teens.

Where this research is happening

New York, United States

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Last reviewed 2026-06-13 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.