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Abstract

Mental health is an increasing concern on university campuses, but many students face significant barriers to seeking support, especially international students and those from minority backgrounds. Stigma, unfamiliar care models rooted in Western norms, and difficulty expressing distress often lead them to underutilize available campus services, reinforcing a broader culture of silence around mental health and contributing to worsening outcomes. In response, digital mental health technologies have been promoted as scalable and accessible alternatives, but many overlook the personal, cultural, and relational factors that shape how university students seek and experience mental health care. This dissertation explores how the design of interactive systems can improve inclusivity, accessibility, and emotional engagement in mental health support for university students. Guided by a human-centered approach and the Design Thinking model, I explore these challenges across four studies. The first two studies use interviews and co-design with international and East Asian students to identify barriers to accessing support and to surface design opportunities that highlight self-help, social support, and professional guidance. These studies highlight storytelling as a promising approach to promoting mental well-being: by sharing and engaging with personal experiences, storytelling can dispel negative attitudes and foster a sense of community. The third study builds on this by introducing Digital Human Library, a storytelling platform that supports help-seeking self-efficacy through curated peer and professional narratives. The final study exploratively compares two writing assistant tools powered by large language models (LLMs), one that is emotionally expressive and one that is creatively structured, and analyzes how these two different types of artificial intelligence (AI) support can scaffold the writing of mental health stories intended for sharing. Chiefly, we look at therapeutic reflection, emotional engagement, and perceptions of authenticity from the perspectives of both writers and readers. These studies contribute practical design strategies and theoretical insights for building inclusive mental health technologies. The dissertation also raises critical questions about the role of AI in therapeutic contexts, highlighting tensions around guidance, voice, and vulnerability in digitally mediated care.