In the US, mental health care is more important than ever, with over 51.5 million adults diagnosed with mental health conditions in 2020, according to the Mental Health Services Administration National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

Yet, despite the growing awareness, online mental health services like Cerebral face a major challenge: potential subscribers often hesitate to sign up for services without first receiving a diagnosis, or acknowledging their existing diagnosis. This can make individuals feel uncomfortable selecting a treatment plan without medical knowledge or input from a professional, particularly if they have no prior history with mental health care.

How might we improve Cerebral's assessment process to offer individualized support for clients seeking mental health treatment, while ensuring scalability and accommodating diverse patient profiles?

1. Lack of sign-up support: Prospective clients expect a supportive step-by-step process to guide them in finding the right mental health treatment. However, emulating this level of support throughout the sign up and assessmentjourney is a challenge.
2. One-size-fits-all approach: The current onboarding process does not account for the diverse patient profiles that seek help through Cerebral.
3. Impersonal language: The original flow utilized a great deal of transactional and reserved language, with inconsistencies in tone throughout.

Our solution addresses unique patient needs and improves treatment outcomes, but a challenge we faced was the clinical questionnaire, which couldn't be reworded without affecting its validity. We improved the user experience by restructuring the questions before and after the questionnaire to be more conversational and build better rapport with prospective patients.

I worked with the other product designers to develop measurable user centered success metrics recommended identified the following metrics to track the success of this project:

1. Conversion rate: We aim to reduce confusion in the sign-up process, which we anticipate will increase the number of people who convert.
2. Time to convert: We plan to simplify the process and reduce the number of steps, which we expect will result in faster conversions.
3. Patient satisfaction: We expect patients who experience a more user-friendly and intuitive sign-up process to have higher satisfaction levels and stay signed up for longer periods with Cerebral.

Client Journey Insights

Cerebral's UXR team and data team provided the following insights from our users through the Client Journey that were relevant to this project:

1. Many of the prospective patients without a diagnosis are uncomfortable seeing a list of conditions to select from during the sign up process. They came to Cerebral to seek or confirm a diagnosis, not to self-diagnose.
2. Prospective patients who have varying levels of familiarity with mental health terminology or treatment options require guidance and explanation depending on their individual needs.

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Competitive Analysis

A competitive analysis was performed in 3 online mental health companies and 18 companies from another industries, including Telecommunications, Wellness/OTC, skincare and Subscriptions. The main highlights from these studies were:

• Comprehensive questionnaire: Used to ask patients specific questions, narrowing down their options and making it easier to choose a treatment plan.
• Real-time feedback: Provided to patients based on their assessment responses, generating tailored treatment recommendations.
• User circumstances: Patients are able to customize their treatment plan characteristics and cadence, based on their individual circumstances.

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This detailed analysis of industry leaders, also provided valuable insights into successful strategies for engaging with users, aiming to create a user-centric experience that meets the unique needs of each patient.

1. Use language that is relatable and easy to understand to help users feel more comfortable and engaged, particularly for those who may be less experienced with mental health care.
2. Incorporate a conversational flow that mimics an in-person doctor's office experience, creating a sense of trust and open communication with the user.
3. Offer non-invasive upsells that provide helpful suggestions or add-ons to support the user's journey, without feeling intrusive or overwhelming.

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Proto personas

The patient profiles for people seeking mental health support is very complex and they may approach with a variety of past experience and goals. For this project we decided to focus on the two established proto personas used at Cerebral:
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Newbie Nolan (79.4%)
‍No mental health care experience

• Has limited knowledge about mental health issues, symptoms, and treatments.
• May feel ashamed or stigmatized by seeking help for mental health issues.
• Has difficulty recognizing symptoms of mental health issues, which can make it harder for them to seek help.
• May be uncertain about what to expect and feel anxious about the process.
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Savvy Susan (20.6%)
Prior mental health care experience

• Has undergone a diagnostic process and has previously received a diagnosis.
• Is more confident answering questions about their mental health, having had experience with the diagnostic process.
• Is currently using or has used medication for mental health treatment in the past.
• Has hit a moment in their life where they recognize the need for care again, either due to a relapse of symptoms or the onset of a new episode.

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UX Audit

As a product team, we faced significant challenges in understanding the various iterations of the Cerebral sign-up and assessment experience. With multiple versions of the experience in use, it was difficult to keep track of the nuances and differences between them, leading to potential confusion for both users and internal stakeholders.

In order to get a better understanding of all the flow variations, the product team conducted an overall UX audit to identify any inconsistencies in style, language, or functionality.

Modularizing and consolidating the sign-up and assessment experience into a cohesive, streamlined process was key into addressing these challenges and ensured a consistent and user-friendly experience for all. This would also allow to create more customization per user group, catering to specific needs and preferences.

The identified existing sign-up flow variations were:

• Medication + Therapy
• Medication + Counseling
• Medication + Care
• Therapy
• MAT + Therapy
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Future State Journey Mapping

We began creating the main flow for a new onboarding process, documenting relevant off-flow events and visual examples for each point. We also developed a customer story for the main flow based on the two personas identified during research.

• Main user flow
  A key component we focused on while crafting the main flow was to focus on the new voice and tone of the journey, imbuing it with conversational clues and making sure to add the right rhythm between input and feedback.
• Support Processes
  We built logic for off-flow events like email triggers and push notifications that supported the user journey and provided a low-lift personalized experience.
• Visual examples
  We used visual examples to reference successful interaction examples, enhance the brand, and create engaging layouts for each step of the user journey.
• Storyboard
  We crafted a storyboard to refine the user journey and ensure we met the user needs at every step. As a result, we were able to create a more seamless and delightful product experience.

Wireframes

Mockups

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Prototype

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By the end of this project stage, I provided the following deliverables:

1. A competitive analysis of sign-up processes for various mental health and related services.
2. A journey map that combines existing research and insights from the competitive analysis.
3. Wireframes that outline the journey for each of the two main personas.
4. Recommendations for voice and tone, as well as feedback progression throughout the user journey.
5. A new UI style that aligns with the updated brand guidelines.
6. A prototype that showcases the key milestones in the sign-up process.

The prototype of our new onboarding flow proved to be a pivotal moment for our product design team. The following points summarize the key takeaways from this project:

1. The prototype for the new sign-up and assessment flow provided the foundation and inspiration for new variations the flow.
2. Many elements from this flow were integrated into the Cerebral Design System, which has been used for multiple products at the company.
3. The new assessment flow created a more personalized and welcoming experience for patients.
4. The focus on delivering innovative solutions prioritized the unique needs and experiences of each patient.
5. This product has served as a catalyst for future design improvements, and the team is proud of the impact it has had on the user experience.

To improve the sign-up and assessment experience for all users, we can take steps to address cognitive function impairments, such as simplifying language, providing clear instructions, and offering visual and audio aids. Exploring the use of assistive technologies can also help improve accessibility and usability for a wider range of clients, ensuring that our platform remains accessible and user-friendly for everyone.

Continually evaluating and iterating on these solutions will help us to keep our sign-up experience as inclusive and accommodating as possible.