Design Thinking for Mental Health

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a design jam focused on design thinking for mental health. A design jam is a space where people come together to collaborate and build solutions on social or business challenges. The theme for this event was focused on changing the way we communicate about mental health and how this could look in our everyday lives. This had me thinking about ways that I, as a new designer, can plan to keep inclusivity in mind.

Portraying realistic images

A picture is worth a thousand words.

That being said, portraying images that are accurately associated with the message desired is extremely important. Often when we think of someone that’s suffering from depression or anxiety we picture someone holding their head with frustration. It may even involve a negative or violent depiction of mental illnesses. However, this is not completely accurate, because it can look differently for different people.

Often times mental illness is misrepresented in books, film, tv and other forms of media, portraying a negative light. It draws people in. It’s entertaining, but what does this communicate to the public? Stereotypes are then created based on inaccuracy rather than fact.

Using your words wisely

We’ve all done it before.

Whether referring to an ex that won’t stop calling, or a politician that tweeted something unbelievable, we’ve loosely used the term “crazy”. However, using words like “crazy” or “insane” draws on stereotypes and can perpetuate mental health stigma. Similarly, when using phrases like “This is depressing” loosely, you ignore the seriousness of the illness.

This may seem obvious, but it’s always important to keep all users in mind when creating content. This means thinking about your words and how they affect all users.

Conducting thorough research

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 17 percent of adults are functioning at “optimal mental health.”

Designers don’t know what clinicians and psychologists know. This is why user research is even more of a priority in the health care sector.

UX research is based on observation, understanding, and analysis. It helps us understand people’s pain points, so we can respond with informed design solutions. Through these insights, we’re able to focus on the human experience and insert their needs into our process.

Conclusion

Hopefully one day the world will view mental health with equal importance as physical health, but until then, we can focus on doing our part by creating an inclusive space for everyone. I hope to do this by continuing to educate myself and others, being conscious of my language, and choosing empowerment over shame.

What will you do to stand up to stigma?