Can a phone app curb Self-Harm in teens? new study aims to find out
NCT ID NCT07224165
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jul 09, 2026 · Updated 3 times
Summary
This study tests a smartphone app designed to help teenagers aged 14-18 who self-harm and are not currently in therapy. The app teaches coping skills and connects them with support through a friendly chatbot. The goal is to see if the app is easy to use and helps reduce self-injury, depression, and anxiety. This is a small early-stage trial to prepare for a larger study.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- app-based digital mental health intervention
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could provide a low-cost, accessible way to help teens reduce self-harm and find support.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small early-stage feasibility trial, not yet proven effective. The app may not work for everyone, and teens with severe mental health issues are excluded.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 80 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jun 2026
- Expected to finish
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Jul 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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14 to 18 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Current NSSI (NSSI on 2 or more days in the last month * English language skills sufficient to engage in the consent and intervention procedures * Age 14-18 * Access to smartphone Exclusion Criteria: * Severe mental health diagnoses for which this intervention would be inappropriate (psychotic disorders, active manic episodes) * Severe suicide risk, including suicidal ideation with a plan and intent to act * Current engagement in psychotherapy
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Northwestern University
RECRUITINGChicago, Illinois, 60611, United States
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- Can a group program teach teens to cope before therapy starts?