Evergreen aims to personalise mental health support for Dartmouth students
An AI chatbot called Evergreen routes users to campus resources quickly, acting as a smart front door to care.
Dartmouth College is developing a student-facing AI chatbot, Evergreen, to support mental health and overall thriving on campus. A team of 130 undergraduate researchers is working with faculty to review evidence and make the bot’s conversations feel natural to students.
Project co-lead Nicholas Jacobson, associate professor of biomedical data science and psychiatry, said the goal is personalised interventions aligned to studentsć needs, habits, and health goals. The app aims to deliver timely guidance, nudges, and resources that adapt to each user’s context.
Undergraduate contributors are examining research on effective digital mental health tools and translating the findings into conversational prompts. The focus includes language tone, cultural fit, and the avoidance of generic or automated responses that undermine trust.
Campus wellbeing drives the initiative, as universities report retention pressures linked to mental health challenges. National studies highlight high rates of depression and anxiety among college students, underscoring demand for accessible, after-hours support options that complement clinical services.
Safeguards remain central to design, including escalation pathways to human professionals and privacy-preserving data practices. Evergreen is being positioned as a supplement to, not a replacement for, counselling services, with emphasis on evidence-based content and responsible AI use.
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