Mello – Anxiety & Depression

According to The Lancet Psychiatry Commission on Youth Mental Health, mental ill-health is now the leading cause of disability worldwide with 75% of conditions emerging by the age of 25. Our psychologists identified that young people were facing a recurring problem - they were getting stuck in negative thought spirals and needed extra help to break out of these spirals when they weren’t in clinical sessions. With these young people struggling to do so on their own, we created a mental health app designed for young Australians in the moment they need it, specifically targeted at stuck thinking and rumination challenges.

Mello was designed to solve a common gap in care: outside of therapy sessions, young people were left with paper handouts or told to research coping strategies themselves. We rethought this journey from end to end, transforming clinically informed exercises into accessible, in-the-moment support that could be used exactly when needed. The design challenge was to remove friction from help seeking and make support easier to use in everyday life. By taking the leg work out of getting support, Mello helps young people get relief faster when they feel stuck, overwhelmed or caught in unhelpful thinking.

Mello delivers measurable impact by improving access to timely, evidence-based mental health support. A clinical trial with young Australians aged 16-25, conducted by Orygen Digital and the University of Melbourne, found that after six weeks 82% of users reported reduced anxiety, 79% decreased depression symptoms and 83% less stuck thinking. In 2025 alone, almost 4,000 exercises were launched with peak usage between 8pm-12am when traditional supports are least accessible. By providing immediate, in the moment care, Mello extends the reach of clinicians and reduces barriers to support, delivering meaningful societal impact at scale.

Developed by psychologists and grounded in evidence-based approaches including CBT, ACT, DBT, Mello turns proven mental health strategies into practical tools young people can use on their own. The design focuses on making support easy to access, simple to use and relevant in everyday moments. Mello includes nine bite-sized, therapist-led courses with 28 exercises that help young people reframe or redirect their negative thoughts, reduce worry and anxiety, build self-compassion and develop practical coping skills. The ‘Get Unstuck’ feature, provides users with targeted recommendations based on how they’re feeling, helping them find the right support quickly. ‘Check-In’ allows for regular prompted mood tracking and 'Schedule’ supports users to plan exercises for their future selves. Mello’s most popular feature, ‘Vent’, offers a private space to express thoughts through writing or voice before saving them for later, setting them free, or trying suggested exercises designed to get relief in that moment.