The JoyPop Trial
Advancing Research on Youth Coping and Resilience
“We can’t wait.”
One youth after another makes this urgent appeal in the video for Dr. Aislin Mushquash’s Brain Canada-funded study.
In their transition from high school to university, many students are facing exam stress, relationship challenges, financial worries, and in some cases, crisis.
And when they live in Northwestern Ontario, they’re also facing some of the longest wait times for youth mental health services in the country.
Dr. Mushquash, a clinical psychologist who runs a coping research lab at Lakehead University, wanted to know: Can we use technology to support youth in developing the skills they need to cope with these stresses?
The JoyPop trial
With a Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research grant, Dr. Mushquash and her team recruited 160 youth to participate in a trial of JoyPop, a smartphone app designed to support emotional regulation and manage adversity. The app was developed by researchers in consultation with clinicians, youth service providers, and victim services.
“Of all the apps that exist in the world, most have zero evidence to support them, yet make big claims about what they can do. As researchers, it's our responsibility to determine – is this actually going to help, and at minimum, is this not going to cause harm?”
- Dr. Mushquash
The JoyPop randomized controlled trial, which ran for one year assessed changes in emotion regulation and wellbeing over time between two groups, those using the app for four weeks versus those in the control group with no access to the app. What they found is that difficulties in regulating emotion decreased across time more among those using the app than those in the control group.
How does the app work?
The app helps build coping and emotion regulation skills through brief check-ins and simple, evidence-informed tools. Users are encouraged to log in at least twice a day to rate their mood; if they report feeling low, the app suggests tailored activities such as journaling, calming games, drawing, breathing exercises, or revisiting a personalized “circle of support.” Instead of pushing one fixed program, JoyPop lets users choose what they need in the moment, reinforcing self-awareness and agency.
Over time, these repeated practices help strengthen coping pathways, so youth are better equipped to handle stress before it becomes a crisis.
Dr. Mushquash and her team asked youth for their take on the app experience:
“I really like the drawing feature, because it's hard for me to write down my feelings, so drawing just makes it so much easier.”
“I like the games and the breathing options, because if I'm anxious or something, there's always a way to calm down.”
“It's kind of like a friend that's always with you. Whenever you're feeling down, feeling mad, basically, whenever you have a negative feeling, you can just rely on the app to just try to bring some happiness in your day.”
What’s happening in the brain?
Youth are still developing coping infrastructure. The prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for regulating emotions, making decisions, and thinking rationally, is developing until the mid-to-late 20s. On the other hand, the limbic system which is involved in generating emotions, reward-seeking, and instinctive reactions, develops earlier, around 10-13 years old. This is why teenagers can experience emotions very intensely or act more impulsively – the brain systems responsible for self-regulation and thoughtful decision-making are still developing. And this is why the youth and young adults in Dr. Mushquash’s research are at a critical age for learning and developing coping skills.
What difference did it make?
The JoyPop trial results show that core regulatory processes can be positively influenced through brief, self‑guided digital training; in other words, the trial provided evidence that mobile platforms are effective mechanisms for engaging brain processes linked to mental health. The project also establishes that measurable gains in positive mental health can occur over short periods.
Dr. Mushquash’s program of research with the JoyPop app support its value at multiple points in the mental health care pathway for youth and young adults:
Pre-care / prevention – building skills so fewer youth reach crisis.
While on waitlists – giving youth something meaningful and safe to use while they wait for traditional services.
Between sessions – as an adjunct tracking and skills tool.
Step-down after discharge – a way to maintain gains when formal services end.
“Digital tools like JoyPop won’t replace one‑on‑one care, but they can be an important part of the system of services and supports,” Dr. Mushquash explains.
Top five tips for parents to foster coping in kids and teens
Dr. Mushquash emphasizes that stable routines, strong connection, and visible modelling of coping are the most powerful steps caregivers can take to foster adaptive coping in their kids and teens. Specifically, she recommends that caregivers:
Build the foundations of wellness: Adaptive coping is much harder without the basics: sleep (consistent and sufficient sleep is critical, especially for adolescents), regular meals and basic nutrition, physical activity and time outdoors, and thoughtful screen time (recognizing both benefits and risks). These “simple” things are hard to implement consistently, but they are the bedrock of emotional regulation.
Connect before correct: Prioritize emotional connection and relationship over immediately trying to “fix” or correct behaviour. When things go off the rails (e.g., you lose your temper), come back to your child to repair: name what happened, acknowledge your feelings, and model what you’d do differently next time.
Model the coping you want to see: Children learn coping largely by watching caregivers. Do you slam doors, shut down, or avoid? Or do you name your feelings and show healthy responses (go for a walk, talk to a friend, take a break, breathe, exercise)? Make your coping visible and explicit (“I’m feeling really stressed, so I’m going to take two minutes to reset and then we can talk.”).
Create predictability and routines: Consistent bedtimes, wake times, mealtimes, and daily routines help “lower the baseline” of stress. Predictability and structure calm the nervous system, so when an unexpected stressor hits, your child is better able to cope. Family routines like a regular dinner time or evening wind-down can be powerful protective factors.
Support emotional regulation from early on: Emotional regulation learning starts in infancy – a baby cries, a caregiver soothes – that’s the first “lesson” in managing distress. Over time, look for opportunities to:
Help your child name the feelings they’re experiencing;
Offer and practice different coping options (e.g., talking, journaling, distraction, movement, breathing); and
Reinforce that strong feelings are manageable, not dangerous.
“Most importantly, be compassionate with yourself as a caregiver. Everyone gets it wrong sometimes; the key is that the relationship is strong enough to allow for repair,” says Dr. Mushquash. “It’s not about perfection, but about small, consistent adjustments and modelling that learning and change are always possible.”
What’s next?
Four additional JoyPop clinical trials are currently underway in Dr. Mushquash’s coping research lab at Lakehead University. What’s different about these trials is who’s eligible – youth must be on the waitlist for mental health services to participate. Two of the trials focus on Indigenous youth between 12-17 years old and transition-age, between 18-25 years old, while two focus on non-Indigenous youth across the same two age categories.
Alongside the trials, Dr. Mushquash and her team continue supporting youth mental health in underserviced areas by building capacity among youth and those who support them to navigate the digital mental health landscape. This involves increasing access to evidence-based digital mental health tools and creating better systems to get youth to alternative services when digital supports are not enough. Dr. Mushquash received $2 million through Health Canada’s Youth Mental Health Fund to support these new “Help in Hand” initiatives. This stepped-care approach, which will be evaluated by the team, has the potential to improve the availability, accessibility, and quality of supports for youth.
Dr. Mushquash is also pleased to report that an Android version of the JoyPop app has been developed and will soon be available.
“We’re never going to remove the stress out of someone’s life completely. But we can support them in building up that repertoire of positive coping strategies and insight into what’s working for them. That gives a bridge between research and what we see clinically, and it gives a bit of hope that there are always things we can work toward in terms of improving.”
Links:
To download the app: https://getjoypop.ca/
To view the promo for the app: Vimeo link
Dr. Aislin Mushquash at Lakehead University was awarded a $100,000 Brain Canada Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research grant in 2022 for her project entitled Evaluating an innovative e-mental health solution to support youth with mental health disorders in Northwestern Ontario. The grant was made possible with the financial support of Health Canada (through the Canada Brain Research Fund, an innovative partnership between the Government of Canada (through Health Canada) and Brain Canada) and the Barry and Laurie Green Family Charitable Trust.