Can a phone app help stressed teens while they wait for therapy?
NCT ID NCT06239519
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether the JoyPop app can help 110 Canadian youth aged 12-17 better manage their emotions while on a waitlist for mental health services. Participants use the app at least twice daily alongside usual care. The goal is to see if the app improves emotion regulation and reduces symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- JoyPop mobile mental health app
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could provide a free, accessible tool to help youth manage emotions and reduce distress while waiting for professional help.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage trial (110 participants) testing a behavioral intervention, so results may not apply broadly. The app requires an iOS device, which could limit access.
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 110 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Feb 2024
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2025
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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12 to 17 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
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: * Youth must be on the wait-list for mental health services at St. Joseph's Care Group or Thunder Bay Counselling Centre and be between 12-17 years old. * Eligible youth will also need to be available to attend a virtual or in-person orientation session. * In order to download the JoyPop app, participants will need access to an iOS device (e.g., iPhone, iPad). Refurbished iPhones containing just the JoyPop app will be provided to participants to use for the duration of the trial if they do not have access to their own.
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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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Lakehead University
RECRUITINGThunder Bay, Ontario, P7B5E1, Canada
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