overview

01 - empathize

research approach

To understand the pain-points and challenges of those seeking mental healthcare, I recruited members 
of my personal and professional network as respondents.

My goal was to understand:

1.The emotional and functional pain-points people encounter when wanting to begin therapy

2.Their journey from not having a therapist, to finding a therapist they really like

Then I would iterate and test, to get to the best outcome.

competitive analysis

I began reviewing the marketplace for therapy services. While therapy has been around for decades, in the past few years products have been more common place promising to match users with ideal therapists.

Alma, Better Help, and TalkSpace assist to connect end users with therapists within their insurance market place, but fail to create tools that will effectively change a user’s life or habits.

user interviews

I interviewed 6 people between the ages of 28 - 45, who suffer from varying degrees of mental health challenges. Some are in therapy, some are not.  My goal was to understand a wide array of life perspectives and user journeys.

key insights

After speaking to research participants it became apparent how convoluted the mental health market is and how confusing, disappointing and discouraging that search can be.

02 - define

research synthesis

Throughout out the consumer research there were several reoccurring themes. 


People really struggled to find the right therapist and found themselves fighting paywalls, insurance companies and doctor’s offices only to end up with a practitioner who ultimately isn’t a fit.

Many of the interviewees found the process incredibly difficult to navigate while already dealing with the strain of depression or anxiety.

Private practices rarely update ZocDoc on their insurance policies and insurance providers sometimes list therapists who are no longer in their network. To people in need, it feels like there are roadblocks at every turn.

pain points

~ Finding a therapist is a convoluted process.

Finding the right match comes with extensive wait times, scheduling multiple meet & greets with various therapists, and lack of communication from doctor’s offices with clients, all of which could exacerbate an individual’s mental health crises.

~ Most people spend too much time on their device.

This has an overall negative effect on a person’s physical and mental health.

~ Respondents want to spend more time outside.

Outdoor time was often cited as being a massive help when going through a mental crises, whether that is taking a walk,  stepping outside for air, or meditating on a beach.

problem statements

~How might we make the matchmaking between user/therapist process more efficient?

~How might we help users establish healthy habits and routines?

~How might we remind users to take a break from the digital world?

personas

In order to prioritize a user focused design I proceeded to develop a series of thorough personas, each distilled from the thoughts, experiences and emotions of our research participants.

Meet Margret Casis - the consummate American dream. Living a rags to riches dream, her childhood deeply informed her goals and life pursuits. After finding success in her career there was a creeping sense of doubt and anxiety entering her life. Years of life were spent on work, but unfortunately she never learned who she was deeply.

That is when the long journey of self discovery begins. Margret started spending days upon weeks searching for the right therapist, in-network, available, and the right match.

03 - ideate

user flow

Prior to designing the product, I delved into the information architecture and how my content would ultimately be structured.

04 - prototype

05 - testing