Soluna Redesign: Restoring Trust in Fully-Funded Mental Health Coaching for California Youth

  • Project Year: 2025-26
  • Departments Represented: Fung Fellowship
  • Industry/Track: Health + Innovation

CA DHCS has partnered with Kooth to provide all Californians (13–25 years old) with Soluna, a free mental health coaching platform, under the California Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative. Many users, who are actively stressed but not classified as “mentally ill,” are skeptical of state-funded programs, concerned about privacy, and confused about cost transparency. We propose redesigning Soluna’s app interface to restore user trust and reduce friction by providing comprehensive information through an intuitive user experience, ensuring this fully funded service is seamlessly accessible to anyone.

  • Advisor(s): CA Dept of Healthcare Services
  • Team: Judy, Luo; Art Practice, Data Science; Varsha, Behera; Molecular and Cell Biology; Soumya, Rai; Molecular and Cell Biology, Public Health ; Yung-Te, Wang; Psychology; Angela, Kim; Molecular and Cell Biology