Care that meets young people where they are.
Soluna's clinical model is built on more than two decades of evidence — grounded in positive psychology, driven by youth-led design, and structured to reach young people early, before a crisis hits.
Prevention first
Most mental health systems are built around crisis response — waiting until someone is in significant distress before support kicks in. Soluna works the other way around: prevention-first, reaching young people early and matching them to the right level of support long before things escalate.
That support isn't linear — young people can move between self-support, peer support, and professional support as their needs change, rather than working through a fixed sequence of steps. The goal is always the same: the right level of support, at the right time.
The iRESPOND Framework
Soluna's clinical model operates under iRESPOND, Kooth's clinical operating framework:
- Integrative — combining different therapeutic approaches, shaped by each person's environment, relationships, and life experience
- Responsive — timely, empathic support, available in the moment and 24/7
- Evidence-Based — grounded in established clinical evidence and Kooth's own real-world outcomes data
- Safe — built on rigorous practitioner training and clinical governance, in line with national and state requirements
- Person-Focused — individualized to each young person's circumstances, culture, and preferences
- Outcomes-Led — outcomes tracked and measured throughout, including tools purpose-built for single-session support
- Non-Judgemental — a space to listen and support without judgement, wherever someone is starting from
- Data-Driven — using data, including insights shared back with users, to continuously improve care
Journey to change
Soluna's theory of change was named Journey to Change by the young people who helped shape it. It maps how the platform's three pillars — self-support, peer support, and professional support — build towards the same outcome: helping young people develop the confidence, independence, and connection to navigate life's challenges with more resilience and flexibility.
Grounded in evidence, not trends
Soluna's clinical model draws on positive psychology, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Self-Determination Theory — three well-established frameworks focused on building a young person's strengths and sense of agency, rather than only treating what's wrong.
Support is also built around a single-session model: every conversation with a coach is designed to offer something useful on its own, not just serve as a first step in a longer program a young person has to commit to before seeing value.
The model is developed with licensed clinicians and reviewed on an ongoing basis to make sure it holds up in practice, not just on paper.
Coaching and Care Navigation, side by side
In California, Soluna's professional support centers on coaching: motivational interviewing, goal setting, and action planning to help young people build momentum on mild-to-moderate needs.
When a young person needs more than coaching can offer — therapy, medical care, or other specialist support — Soluna's Care Coordinators step in, connecting them to local, low-, or no-cost services and staying with them through the process: checking insurance, completing forms, booking appointments, and following up afterward.
Built with young people, not just for them
Soluna's model is youth-led at every level — Journey to Change itself was named by young people, and that same input shapes the platform on an ongoing basis, from product feedback to the Young Adult Ambassadors who represent their peers in how Soluna grows. Every part of the clinical model — the tools, the community guidelines, the coaching approach — is built to reflect what actually helps, rather than what a traditional health system assumes should help.
For details on how we protect users' privacy and safety, see Trust & Safety.
