BeWell - A Mental Health App Case Study
1. Overview - Why BeWell?
The pace of our lives has drastically increased in the past few years and does not seem to be slowing down. I found that more and more people are struggling with their mental health but are often unable to do something about it. People complain that they don't know where to even be looking for credible resources. Through my project I would like to address these issues and any others that may arise, in order to make mental health more accessible and allow people to talk about the challenges they face.
This project is personal because I have been working as a mental health professional for 3 years now and am deeply passionate about the work I do. The number of calls I get to take on work has increased significantly each year, however a lot of my clients have said that it has taken them a long time to find the right help they need- simply because they don't know how or where to look. I also believe that one's mental health directly affects everything they do, therefore it is very important to try to provide solutions that would help people understand and make informed decisions about their own mental health better.
2. The Problem Statement :
Mental health issues are often confusing because people usually don’t know what exactly they are seeking help and therefore don't know where or what kind of help to look for.
Eg: If I have broken my foot i know to go see an orthopaedic specialist who can guide my treatment; but if “somethings feeling off and i’ve not been sleeping well” people get lost in what to even search for when seeking help.
In fact, users I spoke to all said- that was a reason they just stopped looking.
Keeping this in mind, I set out to build an app that would tackle this issue and make the process easy.
3. Users and audience
Users aged 16-60
Generally cautious about their mental health
4. My Process : What I Did
Secondary Research
To validate my problem statement and understand the pain points of users I began by doing secondary research:
I first carried out a competitive analysis of existing and popular mental health apps used in india today. I found that there were a few that existed but I could not find out how many people actually knew about them or even turned to them for help.
The more popular apps were aimed at healthcare in general. These served as holistic directories to find any kind of help - physical or mental.While all the apps i researched had mental health components - they were either buried under the wrong search tag, had very few reviews about therapists or lost in the clutter of services the apps were trying to offer.
Most importantly - I concluded that there is no app on the market that solves the problem of not knowing what to look for for the user. My idea therefore was somewhat validated.
Primary Research
I then went on to interview 10 different users that I had screened via a survey . The
interviewees were divided into 3 categories:
Group 1:
Those who have looked and struggled, are looking, hoping to find in the future. [Mainly to understand pain points]
Group 2:
Those who found help very easily [ to understand how they found help effectively ]
Group 3:
Those think about their own mental health but haven't looked for one [to understand what it might take to get people to look for help - maybe inform features i can include in the app]
This was done to ensure I covered the whole spectrum of possible users.
Here is a summary of my findings:
-Most people struggled to find the right help because they don't know how to search for it
-A lot of them love using alternative methods of coping like journaling, meditation, yoga etc and didn't know it qualifies as a form of mental health care.
-While people agreed that perception around mental illness is changing to mental wellness- they know people who associate mental help with serious illness or ‘being crazy’
-People do feel judged for seeking help and would prefer to keep it to themselves.
Affinity map based on Interviews.
Based on these interviews i was able validate my problem statement and develop the following ‘how might we questions’ to alleviate pain points:
- How might we ease the experience of finding mental health in india?
-How might we create a sense of trust in the process of finding help?
-How might we reduce the stress and anxiety associated with looking for help?
-How might we help users find help that fits their specific problem without hassle?
5. Introducing - My Solution
BeWell is an app that matches users to licensed and vetted therapists based on a set of questions users answer.
Its aim is to improve the health and happiness of its users. Its belief is that anyone should be able to be kind to their mind without judgement. BeWell therefore focuses on wellbeing and providing accessible and easy-to-use tools that make it simple for users to manage their mental health. By matching users to therapists it removes the time consuming and often inconclusive effort users put in when looking for help.
6. Persona and User Stories
Based on my research I built an empathy map and in turn, a user persona.
The BeWell user is someone who is looking to take care of their mental health in the same way that they do their emotional health.
They see the importance of mental health but maybe afraid of being judged and therefore enjoy their privacy.
They have daily stress and therefore want a quick, trustworthy solutions.
7. Sketching and Identifying Red Routes
Having understood my users, i was able to come up with key design drivers that would help make BeWell better for its users.
These were:
1. Quick and comfortable on boarding
2. Personalised experience
3. Maintain anonymity as far as possible
4. Ensure secure feeling.
The main red routes we identified were:
1. Helping users find a therapist that suits their needs quickly.
2.Experience self care techniques to manage daily mental wellness and introduce users to what therapy may look like.
Keeping these in mind:
8. Branding, High Fidelity Mock Ups and Key Features
a. Branding:
BeWell should remind of your warm, wise and empathetic friend. It’s the person you turn to when you need a break or advice.
Key emotions: Empathetic, Trustworthy, Sincere and Easy.
I therefore went with a minimalistic design to reduce cognitive load on its users.
Kelp is the primary colour as it promote a sense of security and calmness.
b. High Fid Mock Up to Show Key Features:
1. A calming on boarding exercise (that changes every time) to reduce the stress and anxiety often associated with finding mental health help.
2. Continue as a guest option so that you don't need to give information until you feel ready to trust our app. [ to ensure your privacy and anonymity ]
Onboarding Breathing Exercise High Fid Animation.
3. A 5 minute questionnaire that clearly helps to find the right help [so that you don't have to worry about to search for]
4. Details about your therapist at a glance
5. A self-care option to help users manage daily mental wellness and introduce them to what therapy may look like in case they dont feel ready yet.
So, the next time someone feels “somethings and i’ve not been sleeping well” all they have to do is answer a 5 minute questionnaire seamlessly and get the help they need.
The significant change I made from my sketches to my final design is to remove the ‘get information on mental health option’ - this was done because the app was feeling cluttered and most users said they would simply google information anyway so there was no use for the feature currently.
Here is interactive prototype of both red routes:
9. User Testing and Findings
I tested and rested the app and found that:
-Users loved the UI and found it very calming
-There were no issues with the user journeys - in fact all participants found them quite simple to navigate
-They appreciated the warnings and explanations throughout the process - “felt taken care off”
-Few said it would be nice to know if friends go the same doctors as them - i however decided not to make this change as it would require social media integration which would break the privacy BeWell promises its users.
Some reworks I would do based on the feedback I got
-Consider switching the layout of the home screen as users may not need to find a therapist/ turn to self care as often if they are daily users.
-These will be fixed variables.
-Add in space for therapists to share notes and exercises so users can quickly find what they need to do.
10. Lessons and Summary
While this started out as a capstone project for me- I have come to learn the severe importance to researching and reiterating my work. In future versions of the app I would love to make BeWell a household name for all things mental health.
Thank you for reading my case study - if you have any questions or feedback do leave your comments below.
And remember to, BeWell!
