Because mental health issues among children and adolescents have increased significantly in recent years, and many of those affected are unable to find appropriate or timely support. The average age of first onset peaks at 14.5 years . Early education, strengthening life skills, and an open approach to emotions in schools help prevent mental illness or mitigate its effects at an early stage.

Mental strength—also known as resilience—is the ability to stay healthy despite difficult life circumstances. It doesn’t just happen on its own, but arises from the interplay of various factors:

• Biological factors such as predispositions (e.g., ADHD, anxiety disorders),

• Family influences such as upbringing, stress, poverty, or the parents' mental health issues,

• Social environment —such as friendships, experiences with bullying, exclusion, or school-related stress.

Yes! Resilience isn’t a fixed personality trait; rather, it can be learned, practiced, and strengthened —especially during childhood, when the brain is still particularly malleable. The key lies in the combination of personal strengths (e.g., self-confidence, problem-solving strategies) and supportive environments (e.g., loving caregivers, safe school settings).

Because most mental health conditions begin in childhood or adolescence, often gradually and unnoticed. Those who learn early on how to effectively manage stress, emotions, and conflicts have a better chance of leading a healthy life. Our programs address this very need: they are age-appropriate, scientifically grounded, practical, and easy to integrate into daily life.

Our approach deliberately focuses on structural integration rather than isolated interventions. We do not develop a series of one-off workshops, but rather a system that is effective in the long term, which

• takes a preventive approach before mental health issues arise,

• is regularly reviewed so that the material is retained long-term,

• is suitable for all grade levels (1–13) —tailored to each age group and applicable across all school types,

• actively puts female students at the center,

• and reduces the workload for teachers by ensuring that all content is standardized and developed by licensed psychologists and child and adolescent psychiatrists with expert knowledge. This allows teachers to focus primarily on facilitating the learning process without the need for additional preparation.

Teachers already do an incredible amount of work. They teach, support children in their daily school life, and are often the first point of contact when concerns or conflicts arise. However, mental health is a sensitive and complex field that requires specific expertise and professional experience. Even though many teachers have a good rapport with theirstudents, this does not replace psychological training (nor does a training course of X hours or two weeks). Diagnosis, early detection, or dealing with emotional distress require in-depth knowledge to prevent harm—and to avoid misjudging or overwhelming children. Teachers take on a facilitating role: they guide students through the standardized modules, support their application in daily life, and encourage open dialogue in the classroom— without having to provide psychological counseling. The content is developed by state-licensedpsychologists and is presented in a child-friendly and evidence-based manner.

We begin with a comprehensive, psychologically informed survey of students, parents, and teachers. Because before we can help, we need to understand exactly where the problems lie— from the perspective of those directly affected.

The questionnaires are age-appropriate, anonymous, and scientifically validated. They cover important psychological areas, such as:

• Experiences of Stress and Pressure in Everyday School Life

• Dealing with Emotions (Emotion Regulation)

• Self-confidence and self-efficacy

• social support or exclusion

• specific concerns (e.g., exams, conflicts, feeling overwhelmed)

We ask:

• Students directly—using different but comparable questionnaires depending on their age.

• Teachers – on their own stress levels and how they assess the mental well-being of their class.

• Parents – on their perceptions of their children’s well-being and their own situation.

The data is analyzed scientifically, and in doing so, we look for patterns:

• Which types of stress are particularly common in which grade levels?

• Which topics are particularly relevant for specific age groups or types of schools?

• How do the assessments of students, parents, and teachers differ?

The content is developed based on a scientifically derived needs matrix. This matrix identifies which psychological challenges and topics are particularly important at each age —such as coping with stress, emotional regulation, or self-esteem.

Only licensedpsychotherapists and child andadolescent psychiatrists who specialize in their respective fields. They work according to a set set of guidelines—with video briefings and opportunities to consult with our team.

The units consist of a mix of analog and digital formats, for example:

• Video Clips & Mini-Meditations

• Interactive exercises & gamification elements

• Workbook pages for self-reflection

• Classroom toolkits (e.g., control charts, scenarios)

• App content for children and parents (e.g., tips for dealing with exam stress or conflicts)

Each session is developed by licensed child andadolescent psychotherapists and reviewed by at least one psychotherapist —some reviews are conducted internally, and others externally. We pay close attention to:

• Technical accuracy

• Age-appropriate communication

• Psychological effect

• Ethics & Sensitivity

• Practical application in schools

Iterative feedback and evaluations take place regularly, which helps ensure the quality of the content:

• Students provide direct feedback in usability workshops.

• Teachers can share their classroom experiences—this helps us keep learning.

• A psychological evaluation of the impact is an integral part of the rollout.

Yes! The system is modular. This means that as social issues evolve, we can add new content or revise existing content— without compromising the overall concept.

The program will first be tested at selected pilot schools, for example in grades 2–3, 6–7, and 11–12. To this end, there will be a kick-off meeting with school administrators and participating teachers—either in person or online. The rollout will be supported by videos, information packets, and short online sessions.

The program is designed to reduce the workload of teachers.

• The lessons are fully prepared and pedagogically sound; you don't have to create them yourself.

• It takes about 20 minutes to prepare each lesson—which is easily manageable even for substitute teachers.

• Teachers facilitate the sessions, while the content is delivered through videos, interactive activities, or worksheets.

We don’t use a new, complicated app.
Instead, all content is delivered via a proven open-source learning platform like Open edX —which is also used by MIT, Harvard, and Microsoft, for example. It is stable, accessible, and compliant with data protection regulations.

To achieve long-term, socially meaningful change, it is essential to systematically involve key stakeholders from the fields of education, psychology, politics, and civil society. Our approach is interdisciplinary, collaborative, and tailored to specific target groups:

• Female students —particularly through the Federal Student Conference (BSK) —are actively involved from the very beginning. Their perspectives are directly incorporated into the needs assessment, the selection of topics, and the design of the content.

• Teachers and schools are direct implementation partners: they participate in pilot testing, feedback loops, and further development. The materials are designed so that they can be used in everyday school life without creating an additional burden.

• Parents play a central role in their children’s emotional development. A planned family app and offline activity kits are designed to provide practical ideas for everyday life and strengthen the connection between school and home.

• Psychologists and child and adolescent psychiatrists ensure the program’s professional quality: They develop course content, review modules, and, when necessary, establish links to clinical care—for example, for children facing particularly severe challenges.

• Foundations and civil society organizations support us not only financially, but also as sources of inspiration and networking partners.

• Ministries of education and school authorities support the integration of the program into the curriculum and coordinate regional rollout processes.

• Health insurance companies and healthcare partners are strategically important—for example, for preventive programs, funding models, and the long-term integration of these services into the education system.

Our goal is a financially sustainable long-term model that intelligently combines government funding, support from foundations, and additional digital offerings.

• In the initial phase, we are relying on partial funding from several foundations that specifically support the setup, content development, and initial rollout. This type of seed funding is expressly encouraged and also enhances the independence of the initiative.

• In the medium term, we are aiming for a business-to-government (B2G) model: This means that the government—for example, through education budgets or health insurance funds—will provide long-term funding for key components of the program, so that schools do not have to bear any costs.

• In the long term, educational content should remain freely accessible to schools and students. In addition, we are developing supplementary digital features (such as a family app) that will be offered under a freemium model: the basic features will remain free, while optional add-ons may be available for €1 per month, for example.

Our goal is to create a highly effective, publicly accessible program that helps as many children as possible—regardless of the school’s or family’s budget. At the same time, we want to remain lean and efficient so that we can continue to operate effectively in the long term, even with limited resources.

The protection of personal data is our top priority. All data is processed in accordance with the provisions of the GDPR —securely, sparingly, and transparently:

• No sensitive content needs to be uploaded. The self-reflection workbooks remain private and are not submitted —neither to teachers nor to us. They are intended solely for personal reflection.

• In scientific evaluations (e.g., as part of pilot studies), only anonymized or pseudonymized data is collected—for example, regarding how stressedstudents feel or whether they found certain content helpful.

• All systems are regularly reviewed for data protection, security, and user-friendliness. An external data protection officer has been involved in the project from the very beginning.

• Data is never used for commercial purposes and is not shared with third parties; it is used solely to improve the program and for scientific analysis— only with your consent.

We believe that mental health requires trust—which is why we create a safe environment where children feel protected and taken seriously.

Yes—in the medium term.
As a first step, we are focusing on the German-language version. However, we definitely plan to develop a multilingual version in the future—especially for children from refugee backgrounds.

• At this time, Ukrainian and Arabic translations are the top priority.

• In doing so, we pay particular attention to cultural relevance and the psychological impact of language.

Background: Studies in Europe (e.g., OECD, Eurostat) show that psychological burdens such as stress, feeling overwhelmed, or emotional problems follow comparable patterns—making a European-wide scale entirely feasible.

Our program is grounded in scientific research —both in its development and in its evaluation:

• All content is created by licensed psychotherapists and experts in child and adolescent psychology.

• The program’s effectiveness is evaluated scientifically —for example, through psychometric questionnaires, interviews, and group discussions with students and teachers.

• The results will be published in two research articles in internationally renowned Q1 journals, such as the *Journal of Educational Psychology* or the *Journal of School Psychology*. In this way , we actively contribute to research and increase the project’s visibility.