A Personalized Guide to a Sound Mind.
Introduction
We live in an increasingly fast-paced and interconnected world, and mental health has emerged as a critical concern affecting millions of individuals worldwide. As if that is not enough the COVID-19 pandemic came and it had a significant impact on mental health globally. People who leave home 4–5 times in a week were forced to be at home this brought about higher rates of anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders compared to pre-pandemic levels.
There were outlets to talk about what people were going through during this period, for a Nigerian living in Nigeria it is worse as there is little to no provision for mental healthcare, The country is reported to have 300 psychiatrists, and this is an inadequate number compared to the population of Nigeria which is over 200million this only shows many are not able to receive the needed care as primary healthcare centres are not knowledgeable in solving mental stress so caring for mental health has been left to affected individuals to face it on their own by either live in denial or cope with whatever way they can.
Poor services are not the only reason for the increase in mental health crises also is the discrimination and stigma and this has led to mental health patients not wanting to talk to friends and family about what they are going through and therapy is also expensive. In a country where less than 5% earn more than 500,000 naira monthly, how many people can afford this?
Discovery
User Research
I conducted interviews with 10 Nigerians between the age of 18 to 30 to ask about their experience on how they deal with depression, stress, anxiety and issue that affect them mentally, I realise people were just “winging it” when it comes to their health, there is the issue of affordability of therapy and also fear of been stigmatised when they open up to close friends about what they were going through, none of my users has used a mental health app so it was quite hard to ask their experience but few have used the services of a therapist and these were some insights I gained
Pain Points
- It is expensive.
- Bringing up the issue of religion during sessions
- The age gap between the therapist and the patient brought about a sort of disconnect.
I proceeded to ask about what will make them use a mental health application and what their expectations are for such a product.
Need and Expectation
- A personalised timeline
- Reccommendation of self help books and podcast
- Exercise feature
- be able to get information and reviews of therapist prior to booking a session
- A sort of community where users can come together and talk about their struggles with identity of users strictly protected
Problem Statement.
We are all going through a lot, we have different reality but the we have one thing inHuman rights, therefore we should not go through life without experiencing life from the lense of a sound mental health. people want to talk but scared of stigma, people need self help resources but do not know where and how to get.
Solution-Aura.
Recognizing the need for accessible and empowering solutions that also protect the identity of its users, I embarked on a design journey to create the AURA — a Personalised guide to a sound mind is aimed at fostering mental well-being, self-care, and emotional resilience. That as some key features such as:
- Books and Podcast recomendation
- Personalized recommendation based on gender and occupation
- Journal
- An online community
- therapy session booking
Define
USER PERSONA.
Wireframes
Before going digital with my solutions, I came up with some rough sketches of my ideas.
Onboarding
On launching the app, the onboarding screens welcomes user with a summary of what to expect with educating microcopy all in swift transition.
Users are able to sign up via Google and Facebook also users can be required to fill in certain information that forms the basis from which recommendations will be made while using the app, also information can be added or edited as time goes on as the user preferences change.
Personalised Home screen.
AURA is tailor-made for the user with a curated home feed as a result of the user’s option when signing up to the app, this leads to more use of the app because the experience while using the application helps with the user's commitment towards getting better. Exercises, books, news and podcast recommendations can be found on the home feed
EXPLORE PAGE
The explore page is a culmination of important features ranging from therapists, videos and self-help books and also a search bar from which users can search for a therapist, a book, a podcast etc.
Safe Space (SS)
One of the challenges faced by people is talking to friends or family about what they are going through they might end up being the butt of jokes or not taken seriously, and there are times what A person needs is just to talk to someone therefore with this in mind, this feature was created it allows users from different places to have virtual meetings something like an AA/NA meeting but online, and it has been proven during the user research interviews that people are likely to open up more when they are being anonymous or rather talk to a stranger so with this feature, various users can share their journeys and challenges about life, a user can apply to be a moderator after a careful vetting process, this feature will have screenshot and screen recording disabled to protect users identity.
JOURNAL
An important part of one's mental health journey is documenting the progress and challenges, this will serve as a reference to know how the person is fairing in their journey towards a healthy mental lifestyle, with this in mind this feature was created and it allows users to document their journey and feeling daily, also there is a voice-note feature for easy documentation as most times writing can seem strenuous maybe as a result of the day’s job or the user was not feeling like it.
GETTING A THERAPIST
For users that feel the need to talk to a therapist, there are therapist which has been vetted and also whose profiles and reviews can be read by the user in order to know if such is a perfect fit for them, booking can be done via the app and there is an option of either physical or online session and the user can go with whatever option that pleases them.
This case study unveils the comprehensive design process behind the Mindful Moments app, highlighting the intricate interplay between user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design. From inception to implementation, I focused on creating an inclusive and intuitive platform that provides users with the necessary tools and resources to navigate their mental health journey. AURA is a mental health app that is designed to provide solutions, guidance, and help to users that need care concerning mental health through sharing their challenges, and self-help books, also share their thoughts, journey, and challenges in an anonymous space talking to a therapist. I hope to inspire fellow designers, mental health practitioners, and technology enthusiasts to harness the power of design to create meaningful solutions that enhance mental well-being and promote a healthier and more balanced life.
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