Monash University has introduced a unique smartphone app, Monash Thrive, designed in collaboration with students during the pandemic lockdowns. This app is now available to both staff and students, offering a range of mental health and well-being resources.
Monash Thrive encourages users to check in daily via a customizable character, helping them become more aware of their day-to-day emotional well-being. By monitoring their moods over time, users can identify when they might be facing challenges. The app provides resources on various aspects of well-being, including stress management, mindfulness and breathing exercises, sleep, and guidance on when and how to seek help.
The development of this app was led by Thrive researchers at the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, in response to the challenges and needs reported by students during lockdowns. Notably, the app was created as a not-for-profit resource, entirely in-house at Monash University, and it does not collect any student data.
Professor Kim Cornish, the Director of the Turner Institute and Thrive co-lead, emphasized the app’s privacy and community-oriented design. Unlike many mental health apps that share private health information with third parties without disclosure, Monash Thrive prioritizes user privacy and has been built with privacy, co-design, and evidence-based research as foundational principles.
Melinda McCabe, Thrive co-lead and lead researcher, highlighted the app’s primary goal: to raise awareness of mental health among students and encourage early help-seeking when needed. The app’s features include tools like the ‘Wheel of Feels’ for journaling and an evidence-based Pomodoro timer to combat procrastination as students manage their workloads.
The app’s development and research testing were conducted in partnership with Allianz Care Australia, which provided funding support for extensive testing and co-design efforts from 2020 to 2023. Monash Thrive is a valuable resource designed to address the mental health and well-being needs of students and staff, offering accessible support and promoting early intervention when facing challenges.
