Discovery & Empathy

Competitive Analysis

I analyzed two primary competitors - 7 Cups and Talkspace - creating a SWOT analysis for each company. This analysis exposed an opportunity for a therapy app solution that is simpler, more approachable to end users, and incorporates holistic mindfulness resources.

Understanding the Problem

I started planning for user interview sessions by establishing my learning goals:

What do I already know?

• There is an existing market for therapy and mindfulness apps

• There are a variety of types of therapy that people seek in-person (psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, music therapy, etc)

• People have many different kinds of experiences with in-person therapy - positive, neutral, and negative

• Barriers like cost, time, and geographical location reduce people’s access to mental health care

Talking to Users

Initially, I chose 3 interviewees - two of whom had never used therapy apps, and one who had.

I looked for participants who had experiences with therapy themselves, or as a part of their job/studies.

• Interviewee #1: 29 years old, female, Sociology student at University of Maryland

• Interviewee #2: 35 years old, male, former social worker, currently working at a food co-op in San Fransisco

• Interviewee #3: 29 years old, female, owner of a vegan bakery, Talkspace user

All of the interviewees had tried in-person therapy in the past. They each spoke to positive and negative experiences, but maintained belief therapy’s helpfulness.

Interviewees 1 and 2 expressed hesitation about therapy apps - they were more comfortable with in-person experiences than sessions via screen.

Interviewees 1 and 3 were very transparent about their wants, needs, and expectations of a therapist, while Interviewee 2 had less of an idea of what he would want to look for in a therapist.

Interviewee 3 is a current Talkspace user and spoke very highly of her experiences using the app. 

After my initial interviews, I realized that my understanding of the problem with current therapy app solutions would be better illustrated if I spoke to another current therapy app user, so I found Interviewee #4: 31 years old, genderqueer, hairdresser, new Talkspace user.

From the Talkspace users (interviewees 3 and 4) specifically, I learned that:

• They both have demanding jobs with erratic schedules.

• They both talked about coming from a generation where talking to strangers on the internet was commonplace - they had both developed meaningful relationships behind screens using tools like AIM (AOL Instant Messenger).

• They are both very open to trying out different types of therapy methods.

• They both self-identify as being “non-traditional” and are hesitant about judgmental therapists.

High-level Takeaways

All four participants:

• Had experience with therapy before this interview - therapy is common within the key demographic.

• Expressed interest in learning about or engaging in different types of therapies. 

• Took a surprisingly long time to think about question # 5 (“What are some personality traits that make you feel comfortable opening up to someone?”). It felt like the type of person they’d be talking to is very important to them.

• Wanted to be engaged by their therapist - to feel listened to, challenged, and respected.

• Described anonymity as being less important.

Other key takeaways:

• There is an existing population that is actively excited about therapy apps. 

• Time, money, and access are common barriers to accessing therapy.

• There is still concern about the “person-to-person” connection, though each participant had positive experiences with phone therapy in the past.

• Therapy apps are a relatively new concept - there may not be a lot of word-of-mouth communication about them yet. 

Personas & Journey Maps

Marissa the Millennial represents the primary user of Mindfully - she grew up on the internet and is no stranger to communicating via a screen. This persona is based on direct feedback provided by current therapy-app users. She is my primary persona and my guiding light.

Theo the Traditionalist has tried traditional therapy in the past but feels unsatisfied by the results - he is a great target for conversion to app-based therapy. He was created based on feedback from users who were more skeptical of therapy sessions via phone or screen.

Cara the Therapist represents a therapist with characteristics described by interviewees. She is engaging, responsive, and respectful of her clients.

User Flows

I analyzed tasks that could be completed in the app from the perspective of Marissa Millennial. I then created user flows to start fleshing out the necessary steps and screens it would take to complete basic these tasks.