Effectiveness and Adoption of a Mental Health Crisis App

Youth who used a statewide mental health crisis app in Utah reported significant declines in the intensity of their presenting concerns and were generally satisfied with the app.

Youth who used SafeUT, a statewide crisis app in Utah, reported experiencing significant decreases in the intensity of their presenting concerns, according to a study led by Mindy Westlund Schreiner, PhD, psychologist and clinical scholar in behavioral health at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. SafeUT was created in 2016 for youth to address suicide as the leading cause of death among 10- to 24-year-olds in Utah. Among several benefits, SafeUT uses licensed clinicians and is integrated with Utah’s schools.

Dr. Westlund Schreiner and her research team examined the characteristics of 210 youth who used the SafeUT app between August 2021 and October 2022. Study participants completed surveys covering several areas, including satisfaction with the app and barriers to accessing mental health services.

Results were published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Fewer than half of the participants reported currently using mental health services at the time of survey completion. Additionally, only 45% reported accessing these services before using SafeUT. More than 25% of the youth reported a gender identity other than cisgender male or female. These youth, compared to cisgender youth, were significantly more likely to have reported a suicide attempt in the 2 weeks before survey completion. Parent- and guardian-related barriers were the most frequently reported barriers to accessing mental health services.

“Although families (may) want to do everything they can to help, youth often do not want to burden their parents with their mental health concerns, known as ‘perceived burdonsomenesss,’” Dr. Westlund Schreiner says.

She emphasizes the critical need to reduce this barrier, such as by helping youth identify a trusted adult who can help facilitate conversations about mental health with the child’s parents. Policy-level changes are also necessary, given the legal requirement of parental or guardian consent for youth to access mental health services in many states. A troubling study observation was that nearly 20% of participants reported a suicide attempt in the 2 weeks before completing the survey.

“This rings a lot of alarms,” Dr. Westlund Schreiner says, noting that there is likely more unreported suicide attempts captured in epidemiological studies, as opposed to the present study, because they do not present to emergency departments.

“Preliminary results demonstrate that there are differences in the barriers that youth encounter in accessing mental health services, depending on whether they live in rural or urban areas,” Dr. Westlund Schreiner says.

Approximately 87% of participants reported feeling somewhat supported or very supported by their licensed SafeUT clinician. About 84% reported feeling somewhat satisfied or very satisfied with the app. Importantly, the intensity of presenting concerns decreased significantly following their chat in the SafeUT app.

This article appeared in the 2026 Spring/Summer issue. Download the issue here.

Reference:

Schreiner MW, Farstead BW, Pazdera M, Bakian AV, Kious BM, Manotas K, Crowell SE, Kaufman EA, Langenecker SA. Characteristics of youth crisis app users: Mental health service access and barriers and perceptions of helpfulness. JAACAP Open. 2024 Aug 28;3(3):421-430.

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