The Science Behind Project YES

Dr. Jessica Schleider and her team at Northwestern University have been designing and testing the activities behind Project YES with teens across the country since 2018.

Read more about some of the findings from these studies below.

Our team has worked on building and testing mental health mini courses for years. In scientific articles, they are referred to as "single session interventions". In this guide, we call them "mini-courses."

I. Lower depression, hopelessness, anxiety, and restrictive eating at 3-month follow-up.

Who: 2,452 teens (13–16)
Why it Matters: Brief, one-time activities can deliver lasting benefits.
Source: A randomized trial of online single-session interventions for adolescent depression during COVID-19", Published in Nature Human Behavior, 2022

II. Improvements in hopelessness, self-hate, perceived control, and agency.

Who: 187 teens (11–17)
Why it Matters: Youth rate YES as acceptable and helpful, across different activity options.
Source: Acceptability and Utility of an Open-Access, Online Single-Session Intervention Platform for Adolescent Mental Health”, Published in JMIR Mental Health, 2020

III. Significant, but modest reduction in depression for teens at four, low-income, rural high schools.

Who: 222 teens from four rural, low-income high schools
Why it Matters: Even a single session can move the needle on depression in rural settings.
Source: Randomized trial of a single-session growth mindset intervention for rural adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing problems, Published in Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 2020

IV. Teens living in rural and urban areas both demonstrated comparable completion rates, acceptability ratings, and reductions in depressive symptoms

Who: 2,322 teens (11-17)
Why it Matters: Project YES reaches and works for rural youth.
Source: Serving the Underserved? Uptake, Effectiveness, and Acceptability of Digital SSIs for Rural American Adolescents, Published in Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 2023

V. Across English and Spanish translations, in both there were improvements in self-hate and rated as acceptable

Who: 894 teens (11–17), English & Spanish Youth
Why it Matters: Project YES remains effective and acceptable when culturally adapted.
Source: A Digital Single-Session Intervention Platform for Youth Mental Health: Cultural Adaptation, Evaluation, and Dissemination, Published in Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2023

VI. Youth showed improvements regardless of factors like age and school social status.

Who: 2,452 teens (13–16) across many identities (e.g., Low Socioeconomic Youth).
Why it Matters: Project YES shows consistent impact across demographic identities.
Source: Predicting Transdiagnostic Symptom Change Across Diverse Demographic Groups in Single-Session Interventions for Adolescent Depression, Published in Clinical Psychological Science, 2024

Young Montana student in green outdoor area

What This Means for Montana Communities

Fits Rural Realities

Evidence shows Project YES works for rural teens and can be completed on a phone in 5–10 minutes, no appointments, no travel.

Bridges Wait Times

Use of Project YES between visits, on waitlists, and post-screening to give teens something that helps now.

Equitable Support

Similar benefits across identities and languages mean clinics can recommend Project YES broadly and confidently.

Youth-Approved

High acceptability makes it easier for teens to start and stick with at least one helpful activity.