$140,000 Gift Fuels Development of Positive Emotion Skills App
October 13, 2025
The Positive Psychology and Health Investigations Group (PPHIG) at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Department of Medical Social Sciences has received a generous $140,000 gift from The IV Fund, making it possible to transform the lab’s proven positive emotion skills program into a mobile app to be developed by DerShung Yang, PhD of BrightOutcome Inc.
Led by Judith Moskowitz, PhD, MPH, alongside Associate Lab Director Elizabeth Addington, PhD and team, the program teaches eight evidence-based skills—including savoring, gratitude, mindfulness, positive reappraisal, and self-compassion—that improve well-being and reduce stress. Originally designed to support individuals facing serious health challenges, the program has since been adapted for many different groups including high school students, dementia caregivers, frontline healthcare workers, and thousands of members of the public through the NPR Resilience Challenge, where NPR listeners had the opportunity to learn the skills as part of a multi-week series on stress.
Scaling Impact Through Technology
The new app represents a major step forward in making the program widely accessible. Insights from the Resilience Challenge showed that while any exposure to the skills is beneficial, consistent practice leads to even greater improvements. By placing the program directly on users’ phones, the app will support regular engagement, helping individuals turn positive emotion skills into daily habits.
“Thanks to this generous gift, we can build a platform that not only expands access but also ensures the long-term sustainability of the work,” said Moskowitz. “Our goal is to make these stress management skills available to anyone who could use a little extra coping support - which, increasingly, includes all of us.”
A Gift with Lasting Reach
In addition to amplifying the program’s immediate impact, the app will help sustain the lab’s mission of training the next generation of scientists and practitioners. Graduates of the PPHIG Lab have gone on to research roles at organizations like Headspace and Hinge, as well as academic positions at Rush University, extending the influence of positive emotion skills into wider communities.
The lab expressed special gratitude to The IV Fund, a private foundation and its president Ivy Beth Lewis (BSJ ’79, JD ’85, NU Life Trustee), who works to promote mental well-being to inspire resilience, enhance mental health, and prevent suicide, for sharing that they were personally touched by the Resilience Challenge. “It’s incredibly meaningful to know this work resonated with you,” said Moskowitz. “Your generosity is helping us carry that impact forward to countless others.”