End to end mobile application created to match patients with mental health providers

Therapist Match

End to End Mobile Application, UX/UI, UX research, Figma

Background

Talkspace, an online & mobile therapy company, sent out a survey this year to their community and found that more people are open to discussing mental health as an everyday topic vs secrecy and stigma. 8 in 10 respondents reported that more people are open to going to therapy than they were 3 years ago.

Big Health reports that over 1/3 of Americans live in areas lacking mental health professionals.

problem:

With an increase in mental health issues and a high demand for mental health providers, people are spending a lot of time and money finding the right fit for therapy. And sometimes, they’re meeting with multiple providers before they even find that.

research goal:

I want to understand the current trends for finding a therapist and the pain points associated with finding the best fit for therapy.

research methodologies:

secondary research
user interviews
competitive analysis

User Interviews

5 interviews completed over video chat & in-person
Participants ranging in age from 30-40
All participants have attended therapy sessions either online or in-person, and have had to search for a therapists.

key insights from research

5/5

met with multiple providers before finding the right fit

4/5

were referred by a friend

4/5

prefer same gender provider

3/5

search specific criteria like speciality, background, gender, inclusiveness

View Empathy Map

1/5

has used EAP benefit from work, 2/5 did not because of limitations

Competitive Analysis

After completing user interviews, I was eager to see what is available to help users find the right fit. Find A Psychologist through the National Register of Health Service Psychologists & Alma provided different examples of what people are currently doing to find mental health providers. I analyzed both of their websites below to compare and learn their similar capabilities.

National Register of Health Service Psychologists

Homepage

Search

The feature is useful because it narrows down a list of providers to the user’s location and whatever they would like help with.

Guided Search

This feature is useful because it asks questions to provide a more personalized list of providers for the user.

Start of guided search

Progress Tracker

The feature is useful because it communicates to the user how many more questions are left in the guided search.

CTA for next step

This feature is useful because it improves usability by alerting the user what to do to move to the next question.

Search Results after completing guided search

Left side panel filter

This feature is useful because users can easily update their search criteria.

Search Results

This feature is useful because it shows the results for the specific location the user entered.

Learn More call to action

This feature is useful because it guides the user to the provider profile.

Alma

Homepage

Find a provider call to action

This feature is helpful because the user is given multiple chances to select that button and start looking for a provider.

Book Consultation

This feature is useful because users can book a consultation with a provider directly through Alma’s site.

Search Results

Advanced filtering

This feature is helpful because the user can quickly alter the search results from the search page.

Availability label

This feature is useful because users can explore availability across several providers without having to go to their profile

Request/Book consultation

This feature is useful because users can see if they can instantly book a consult or if they’ll need to request on first.

Quiz

Close out icon

This feature is helpful because it gives the user the option to quit the quiz at any time.

Helper Text

This feature is useful because it instructs the user how to answer the question.

Next question call to action

This feature is useful because users can find their quickly and easily to a previous question or the next question.

Progress Tracker

This feature is useful because it communicates to the user telling how many more questions are left and their status.

Breadcrumb navigation

This feature is useful because users can check their answer before moving onto the next question or change an answer easily.

Elizabeth represents the types of users who are newer to therapy. These users don’t mind connecting with a few therapists to find the right fit but would like to find someone in a timely manner.

Personas

Harriet represents the types of users who want to feel a connection with their therapist. This type of user wants to have an introduction call first to connect and make sure there is potential for the right fit. This type of user is specific on their focus for therapy when they are searching.

“As a user, I need to find the right fit for a therapist because I’m investing my time and money into therapy and I cannot afford to waste either of those.”

Features set & Solutions

Login

When I designed the login, I wanted to keep it minimal, intuitive, and user friendly. One of the user interview participants mentioned that they gave up their search because they had to go through too many steps to try to find a therapist.

Solution: By designing the login so it is familiar to users with input fields and field labels, I was able to create a hassle free login.

Create account

Similar to the login screens, I designed the screens for creating an account to feel very familiar to users with input fields and field labels to direct them. The checkmark alerts the user that their input is valid. Creating an account is not completed until the user submit their questionnaire.

Solution: By designing the create account so it is familiar to users, I was able to create a hassle free account creation.

Questionnaire

The questionnaire is the final piece of creating an account for the user. My user interviews told me that everyone has different criteria they want their provider to meet, and it’s frustrating for them when there are so many different options and they have to put the time and money into finding the right fit themselves. The questionnaire helps to narrow down the matches for the user.

Solution: Users can move to the next question with CTA button or go back to the previous question with the top navigation. This navigation improves usability. Answers are highlighted once the user selects them.

Advanced filtering

Advanced filtering was a favorite feature for the moderated usability test participants. Several of them had frustrating experiences when they were searching for therapists, and they liked how the important information was listed, but they could also filter through depending on what was most important to them. Fits my criteria, or accepting new patients were areas that the user interviews and usability tests proved to be more important to users.

Solution: 1 click options for filtering on provider page create a user-friendly filter.

Booking consultation

Users felt overwhelmed when they were searching online for a therapist because there are so many options. Between all the phone calls they had to make and the back and forth to get something set up, I wanted to design a feature to save them time by letting them book a consultation directly through the app.

Solution: Booking consultation directly through the app saves time for users and allows them to book with as many providers as they would like to without having to wait for a call back. An intuitive, user-friendly calendar makes this process easy for users.

View Prototype

Low Fidelity

Mid Fidelity

High Fidelity

I like to begin my process with very rough low fidelity sketches. I find that it is the quickest way for me to brainstorm different ideas. From there, I move to mid fidelity to add more detail and focus on user scenarios. Lastly, I add the styles to the design and test the interactions with a high fidelity prototype.