Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies

CBITs is seeking applicants for our NIMH T32 postdoctoral fellowship to begin July 2026
🌟 Star-studded mentorship
💻 Training in mental health and human computer interaction (HCI)
✏️ Opportunities to lead projects with multidisciplinary teams
Learn more: cbits.northwestern.edu/education-an...

David Mohr to Step Down as Director of Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies David C. Mohr, PhD, founder and director of the Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies, will step down in early 2026.

With gratitude, we share the news that CBITs’ founder, @davidcmohr.bsky.social, PhD, will step down as CBITs Director. Over the past 14 years, he has advanced digital mental health through his research and leadership.
Thank you, David! 💜
Read more: www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/sites/ipham/...

🌟 Self-care: take time to take care of yourself and do something that makes you feel good
📲 Think about limiting your screen time tonight! We’re all about using smartphones for to make effective lasting behavior changes, but limiting screen time can get you back to your rhythm

☀️ Spend time in the sunlight: open the curtains or take a lunch break outside
⏰ Stick to a routine: try to have meals at consistent times
👟 Move around: physical activity can always boost your mood

Adjusting to the end of daylight savings time can be a process and you may feel sleepier than normal today. Luckily, CBITs has mental health tips and tricks to help make the time change a little bit easier (a thread):

When we aren't developing innovative digital mental health research, CBITs can be found sharing delicious food and completing word searches of spooky things! We might not fear ghosts, but an app glitching causes spooky terror 👻
Wishing everyone a happy Halloween! Stay safe and have fun tonight 🎃💜

CBITs rockstar and Clinical Psychology PhD student @ariellesmith.bsky.social was recently featured in @nufeinbergmed.bsky.social's newsletter! 💜
📖 Read all about Arielle and her research on single session interventions here: www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/research/abo...

🚨🚨 Reminder to check out @jonahjmeyerhoff.bsky.social's free virtual seminar on Friday at 1pm EDT / 12pm CDT!

CBITs is back for “The Future of Industry and Digital Mental Health,” where Clare Purvis, PsyD, will share her work leading project teams to create programs supporting behavior change and founding her company, WELL.
December 2 @ 12:00 PM CT on Zoom
Join us: northwestern.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Attention #Postdoc researchers and #PhDAward candidates: CBITs is seeking applicants for our NIMH T32 postdoctoral fellowship to begin July 2026 with training in both mental health and human computer interaction
Apps will be reviewed December 2025!
Learn more: cbits.northwestern.edu/education-an...

🌟We’re proud to spotlight Kaylee Kruzan, PhD, CBITs Core Faculty, for her dedication to researching theory-driven digital treatments for adolescents and young adults with self-injurious thoughts and behaviors!
Check out more: cbits.northwestern.edu

Center for Precision Psychiatry Seminar Series View the schedule for the seminar series hosted by Mass General's Center for Precision Psychiatry.

@jonahjmeyerhoff.bsky.social will lead a free virtual seminar on co-designing digital mental health interventions for young adults with suicidal thoughts and behaviors on:
📆 Friday, October 31st at 1pm EDT/ 12pm CDT.
Check out the CPP's website for more info: www.massgeneral.org/psychiatry/r...

Designing Digital Mental Health Tools to Support the Needs of Black Adults in the United States: Qualitative Analysis Background: Depression and anxiety are associated with excess morbidity and mortality, constituting a major health care challenge. The prevalence of these conditions is increasing. In the U.S., the he...

All of the 👏 for CBITs RC Sarah Popowski for publishing her first first-author manuscript: "Designing Digital Mental Health Tools to Support the Needs of Black Adults in the United States: Qualitative Analysis" in JMIR Formative Research!
📖 Read more: formative.jmir.org/2025/1/e73279/

We are excited to announce that CBIT's Core Faculty @ashleyaknapp.bsky.social, PhD, has been elected as the Community Engagement Chair of the Society for Implementation Research Collaboration (SIRC)! Her role will be to pursue new connections and collaborations. Way to go 🥳

We’re wrapping up CBITs Partnership Week with a tech-powered health care double-header! CBITs helped adapt Ksana Health’s Vira platform, and teamed up with @rushmedical.bsky.social to study its impact on 130 Chicagoans with anxiety/depression
Read more bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

Today’s CBITs Partnership Week spotlight: Inspiration at Work! Together, we’re building DRIVEN—a 6-week CBT-based app to help unemployed individuals with depression regain motivation and seek work. 💜

Learn how CBITs powers practical mental health tools:
cbits.northwestern.edu/about/_news-...

Thanks to a partnership with LSMH, Montana Pediatrics, Frontier Psychiatry, and Koko, Montana will be the first state to offer single-session digital mental health tools statewide with Project Yes. 💜
Learn how government + CBITs can drive change: www.mss.northwestern.edu/about/storie...

Today we’re spotlighting our work with @mhanational.org, whose digital reach helped launch Small Steps, Plan-Safe, and Coping Compass—tools supporting mental health at scale. 🥳✨ Learn more & explore partnerships: cbits.northwestern.edu/about/_news-...

Got an idea? Partner with us!

It’s CBITs Partnership Week! We’re launching a new pathway to connect with partners in academia, nonprofit, government, tech, and healthcare, expanding our reach...(pretty relevant given it's Mental Illness Awareness Week #MIAW) Read all about it: cbits.northwestern.edu/about/_news-...

🌟 Celebrating 5 Years of Olga Barnas @ CBITS!💫
We’re thrilled to spotlight one of our incredible team members, Olga Barnas, whose dedication has shaped studies, streamlined operations, and strengthened our center. Thank you for being the backbone of so many projects!

We're celebrating NU's newest powerhouse: the Institute for Adolescent Mental Health and Well-Being! They're amplifying research that addresses adolescent health with innovative solutions — and look who they found! 😉 CBITs Co-Director Andrea Graham:
iamh.northwestern.edu/research/res...

@psmg-nu.bsky.social

It's tomorrow! @rachelkornfield.bsky.social will present for the C-DIAS PSMG Grand Rounds tomorrow on Small Steps SMS, her groundbreaking work using an automated text-messaging support intervention for self-management of depression and anxiety. Learn more: cepim.northwestern.edu/calendar-eve...

Text messaging is a uniquely accessible way to deliver digital health interventions, offering broad reach and ease of use compared to most apps. When combined with advanced machine learning techniques, text messaging can also become adaptive and highly personalized. In this talk, Dr. Kornfield will describe how her team is leveraging machine learning and AI within Small Steps SMS, an automated text messaging program that supports self-management of depression and anxiety. She will highlight how the program uses reinforcement learning—a form of machine learning that optimizes decisions over time—allowing daily messages to adapt based on user engagement, mood, and availability. Dr. Kornfield will also discuss ongoing work exploring how generative AI can be integrated into a rule-based messaging system to expand and tailor content while maintaining safety and fidelity. Finally, she will share key lessons from implementing these tools in real-world settings, including how a partnership with Mental Health America has guided adaptations to Small Steps SMS. This includes co-developing content for underserved populations (e.g., adolescents, racial/ethnic minorities) and designing workflows that align with the operational needs of community-based organizations.

📅 Join us on Tuesday, September 30 for a presentation by Rachel Kornfield from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine as she explores how machine learning can be used to deliver text message-based mental health support.
shorturl.at/Azrj9
#BehavioralHealth #AI #CDIAS #PSMG

Wooohooo go @rachelkornfield.bsky.social !

Proud to be part of the @jonahjmeyerhoff.bsky.social's team making this system a reality!

#ConversationalAgents #SuicidePrevention #TextMessaging #MentalHealth

Go Rachel Kornfield, PhD! @rachelkornfield.bsky.social will be presenting at PSMG's Grand Rounds Tues. 9/30 @ 12 PM CST, where she'll discuss how her team is leveraging machine learning and artificial intelligence within Small Steps SMS, an automated text messaging program for depression/anxiety

Go @rachelkornfield.bsky.social!

It’s fun work. I’m lucky to be able to do it w/such amazing ppl: Sarah Popowski, Emily Tack, Tanvi Lakhtakia, Crystal Quan, Jack Svoboda, Theresa Nguyen, Kevin Rushton, Charlie Krause, Rachel Kornfield, @davidcmohr.bsky.social, Madhu Reddy, Rachel Kornfield, @kimvo.bsky.social & @cjkarr.bsky.social