Abstract: This proposal addresses the rising mental health crisis among college students, a population that has experienced a substantial increase in depression rates over the past decade. We propose a novel solution in the form of a customizable mobile mental health (MHealth) app that combines evidence-based therapeutic strategies with an AI-powered virtual therapeutic coach. Backed by two successful randomized controlled trials demonstrating efficacy, feasibility, and acceptability, this project aims to transition this MHealth app into a scalable, market-ready product. Our translational plan includes forming a startup entity, finalizing intellectual property strategy, enhancing technical infrastructure for broad deployment, conducting customer discovery, and securing partnerships with university counseling centers to validate integration at scale.
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