Scout helps today’s youth build real-world resilience
- ClientSutter Health
- IndustryHealth & Wellness
- ServicesCustomer Experience
- CapabilitiesCustomer Experience · Customer Journey Mapping · Mobile App Development · Content strategy · Experience Design · A11y Implementation / Validation · UX Refinement Testing · Visual Identity · Identity & Expressions · Creative Concepting · Accessibility Compliance · Understanding Audiences
Building resilience for today’s youth with Scout
Rates of anxiety and depression among young people have reached record highs in recent years.
Sutter Health partnered with Code and Theory to help bring Scout to life—a tool designed to meet young people where they are. Together, we aligned on product strategy and shaped an approachable experience, keeping teens and young adults at the center.
In this story, you’ll learn how our team translated that shared vision into a focused roadmap and an experience built for real-world use. We’ll walk through the approach behind key decisions—from defining what Scout should be to designing how it should feel—leading up to launch.
Key Takeaways
Scout helps identify and address stressors early, supporting youth resilience before challenges escalate.
By focusing on the whole child, Scout connects emotional well-being with physical health to guide more complete care.
The tool strengthens collaboration among families, clinicians, and support networks so youth don’t navigate difficulties alone.
Embedding Scout into care makes resilience-building more consistent and actionable, turning insights into timely support.
Personalized support in the moment
Scout is different from coaching or therapy and more than a digital mood tracker: it’s a resilience-based resource for youth and their loved ones, offering an adaptable learning program tailored to their needs and interests.
As users share their feelings, Scout provides resources to support them in the moment, meeting them where they are. Scout’s learning program introduces users to coping strategies and response tactics to help them navigate difficult and unfamiliar emotions, while offering a safe space to vent, reflect, and build new perspectives.
Journaling and mood insights
Finding ways to express yourself is a crucial part of making sense of your feelings. Scout provides users with clear, easy-to-use tools for self-expression, including a daily journal to write, record and/or draw how they feel, as well as an emotional trend dashboard to help identify patterns in their mood.
Building everyday rugged resilience
Scout’s curriculum was developed using the Rugged Resilience Measure — a clinician-validated, 10-item measure of psychological resilience.
Scout provides tools and practical strategies by identifying qualities associated with successful adaptation to atypical stress. Periodic check-ins help users track their progress over time.
A bold, hand-drawn illustration system
If you could capture the act of youthful self-expression, what would it look like? This was the prompt Scout’s design team shared with us when we set out to develop the product’s visual language.
We designed a system involving more than 300 original illustrations that celebrated the human hand-drawn sketch. The system aimed to create a cohesive language with clear, readable forms that would elevate the experience while inviting users to contribute through their own visual expression.
High-contrast accessibility, built in
Creating an accessible experience — in terms of user experience and inclusivity — was foundational to Scout’s development.
The product meets WCAG standards with an accessibility score of AA and is available in English and Spanish. Scout was also built as a progressive web app to enable faster development, greater cost-efficiency, and more equal access to the experience for users across the socio-economic spectrum.
Designed for clarity and contrast
Scout officially launched on World Mental Health Awareness Day to shine a light on the need for impact-driven tools that support mental health.
With access to mental healthcare facing such an array of challenges, Scout brings together clinical resources, engaging design, and accessible technology to support youth and their caregivers.
What We Did
Built an app for and by youth and their caregivers
Ensured accessibility across the socio-economic spectrum with a progressive web app
Launched on World Mental Health Day to highlight tools that support mental health
Building resilience for today’s youth
Scout by Sutter Health is a powerful tool designed to help build resilience in today’s youth. It brings focus to the skills and support young people need to navigate challenges and keep moving forward. Scout keeps that effort centered on what young people can build and practice over time.
As you wrap up, keep Scout in mind as a practical toolkit you can return to and share. Building resilience is an ongoing process, and having the right tools can help make that work more approachable and consistent. It’s a simple way to reinforce resilience over time, one challenge at a time.
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