Smooth Sailing e-mental health platform in schools

Provide universal prevention and early intervention in classrooms using the Smooth Sailing platform

Smooth Sailing is an e-mental health service designed by the Black Dog Institute in partnership with NSW high schools, young people, and their parents.

The service aims to prevent depression, anxiety, and suicide in school settings using a sophisticated e-health platform that screens adolescents’ mental health, offers tailored programs, and provides referrals to the school counsellor or health professional. It is particularly well suited to schools with limited resources.

The Prevention Hub will support:

1. Creation of an implementation framework that enables the service to be easily integrated into different high school settings;

2. Development of the IT capacity needed for the service to be delivered at scale;

3. Integration of the service with new e-mental health programs and apps developed by the Black Dog Institute and other leading mental health organisations;

4. Further implementation of the service in high schools.

Principal researchers

Professor Helen Christensen

Director and Chief Scientist, Black Dog Institute, and Professor of Mental Health, University of New South Wales

Professor Christensen is a leading expert on using technology to deliver evidence-based interventions for the prevention and treatment of depression, anxiety, suicide and self-harm. Her research also encompasses prevention of mental health problems in young people through school-based research programs.

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Dr Bridianne O’Dea

Senior Research Fellow, Black Dog Institute

Through her interest in improving access to evidence-based care through technology, Dr O’Dea has been involved in the development of multiple e-mental health apps and has co-led investigations into social media and suicide. She currently holds an Early Career Fellowship from the Society for Mental Health Research and is leading the development of e-mental health tools for adolescents.

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