Chicago, April 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kooth Digital Health today announced new independent research showing that young people who use Soluna experience meaningful and lasting improvements in their mental health. The clinical outcomes evaluation, conducted by the Lab of Scalable Mental Health at Northwestern University, is currently under peer review. It examined how distress and wellbeing changed over time after engaging with the platform.
Soluna, developed and managed through a partnership between Kooth Digital Health and the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), is part of the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) and available free of charge to all California youth ages 13-25. The platform builds on Kooth’s 25 years of experience delivering digital mental health services and offers one-to-one coaching, self-guided tools, clinically informed content, a moderated peer community, and care navigators who connect young people to local resources.
Key Findings from the Northwestern Clinical Evaluation
Led by Dr. Jessica Schleider, Director of the Lab of Scalable Mental Health at Northwestern University, the evaluation recruited real Soluna users as participants through in-platform outreach and surveyed them at baseline, one month, and three months, with psychological distress and functioning as the primary outcome. While the study is currently under peer review, the findings indicate that people showed decreases in distress from baseline to one month, and those improvements were sustained at three months.
Key findings include:
- After engaging with Soluna, young people showed significant reductions in psychological distress at one month.
- The study found that reductions in distress were consistent across the Soluna users taking part in the study, regardless of their background or identity.
- Soluna users surveyed also showed significant reductions in anxiety, depression, hopelessness, loneliness, suicidal ideation, as well as increases in quality of life related to both mental health and physical health at one month.
- There was no fade-out effect: these improvements were sustained at three months.
“It will take a full ecosystem of supports to meet the scale of youth mental health need,” said Dr. Schleider. “Digital tools like Soluna are not a replacement for traditional care, but they are an essential part of the system. In this study, many young people experienced meaningful and sustained reductions in distress. That tells us scalable, accessible support can make a real difference. If we are serious about improving youth mental health at the population level, solutions like this have to be part of the strategy.”
Connecting Soluna’s Reach, Impact, and Clinical Outcomes
The Northwestern evaluation provides independent validation that Soluna is associated with measurable and sustained improvements in youth mental health and quality of life. When viewed alongside research on reach, positive youth experience and satisfaction, and stakeholder reported positive real-world impact on youth’s lives, the evidence demonstrates Soluna’s impact across California in providing accessible youth mental health and wellbeing support.
In its first year of statewide implementation, research found:
- Soluna engaged young people across all 58 California counties.
- User satisfaction was consistently high across Soluna’s features, with 94–99% positive feedback on content, coaching sessions, and safety messaging.
Recent research also showed that:
- 85% of users said Soluna helped them realize they are not alone, and
- 98% would recommend Soluna to a friend.
For many young people, this support is making a meaningful difference in their daily lives and ability to show up at school.
“Soluna has definitely made school better for me, and it got me through the last few days of my freshman year.” Soluna User, Age 15
That impact is also reflected in how educators and youth-serving professionals are experiencing Soluna in their communities. Additional peer-reviewed implementation research found strong support from schools and community partners who work with youth and young adults.
- 95% said they would recommend Soluna to other schools or organizations for students or youth.
- 89% reported improvements in youth concentration in school.
- 87% said that digital mental health apps help improve access to support.
- 83% reported confidence that Soluna benefits staff in supporting student or youth mental wellbeing.
A school counselor in California said; “I unfortunately don't have enough time to meet individually with every student, and sometimes students can't access therapy or don't feel comfortable with therapy yet. Being able to recommend Soluna is something I can do to support student mental health more. I love how accessible it is for students.”
Taken together, the evidence shows that Soluna is expanding access across the state, earning the trust of young people and the adults who support them, and, through independent clinical evaluation, demonstrating measurable and sustained improvements in youth mental health at scale.
“We have built a growing body of research showing that Soluna is reaching young people across California and earning their trust,” said Kate Newhouse, Chief Executive Officer of Kooth Digital Health. “This independent evaluation from Northwestern takes that a step further by demonstrating measurable and sustained improvements in clinical outcomes, including reductions in distress and gains in overall wellbeing. When young people feel less distressed and more supported, that shows up in their daily lives, including stronger school engagement, healthier relationships, greater stability at work, and deeper connection to their communities. We are deeply grateful to California for the commitment to making accessible, youth-centered mental health support available statewide. This research shows what is possible when states expand access and commit to accountability for real outcomes.”
Read the paper: Single-Arm Evaluation of the Soluna Digital Mental Health and Wellbeing Platform for Youth in California
About Soluna: Soluna is California's free digital mental health and well-being platform for youth ages 13-25, developed and managed through a partnership between Kooth Digital Health and the California Department of Health Care Services through the California Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI), a core component of Governor Newsom’s Master Plan for Kids’ Mental Health. Available via mobile and web apps, Soluna provides immediate access to mental health coaching, self-guided tools, peer support, and guided connections to local resources. Learn more at solunaapp.com.
About Kooth Digital Health: Soluna is backed by Kooth, a global leader in digital mental and behavioral health, providing safe, effective care to over 20 million people. For 25 years, Kooth has pioneered scalable solutions that deliver immediate, direct, universal access to mental health support. Kooth holds URAC accreditation in the US and is the longest standing digital mental health provider to hold UK-wide accreditation from the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), validating a commitment to quality, safety, and accountability across both markets. Learn more at connect.kooth.com.
About The Lab for Scalable Mental Health: The Lab for Scalable Mental Health, led by Dr. Jessica Schleider at Northwestern University, develops, tests, and disseminates barrier-free single-session interventions (SSIs) to bridge gaps in youth mental health care, including both digital and human-delivered program. The Lab partners with nonprofit, government, and industry partners to ensure evidence-based SSIs reach all youth, when and where mental health needs arise. Key initiatives include Project YES (www.tryprojectyes.org/lsmh), which offers their, free, anonymous, research-backed SSIs for adolescent depression and anxiety.
Madison Hamilton Kooth mhamilton@kooth.com