BetterHelp Product Design Internship: Summer 2022
Working in the mental health industry is super rewarding because you get to create tools that genuinely help people—whether it’s supporting someone through therapy, making resources more accessible, or reducing the stigma around mental health.
At the same time, it can be a bit challenging. Mental health is a sensitive area, so it takes a lot of empathy and thoughtfulness to design solutions that feel safe, supportive, and approachable for users. There's also a ton of rules and privacy standards, like HIPAA, to keep in mind throughout the process.
That being said, if you’re passionate about helping others and willing to take on the complexity, it’s a fulfilling industry to be part of. With mental health awareness growing, there’s a real demand for designers who care and can create thoughtful, impactful products. Here are my tips to help you make a successful entry:
Research the Industry
Start by getting to know the mental health space—there’s so much happening, and it’s exciting to see how different solutions are helping people in meaningful ways. Start by taking a look at major players to get a sense of the leading solutions and their unique approaches to mental health. Study what makes them successful, the types of users they target, and the problems they solve. For example, some platforms focus on connecting users with licensed therapists, while others prioritize self-help tools like meditation, mindfulness exercises, or mood tracking. These might include:
Therapy platforms: Apps that connect users with therapists for virtual sessions, like BetterHelp, Talkspace, or Grow Therapy.
Mindfulness and wellness apps: Tools like Calm and Headspace that offer meditation, breathing exercises, and stress management techniques.
Clinical management tools: Platforms like Alma and Headway, which help therapists and clinics manage their practices through scheduling, billing, and patient communication.
Self-help resources: Apps that provide guided journaling, CBT exercises, or mood tracking, such as Clarity or DailyBean.
Know the Regulations
When designing for mental health, understanding data privacy rules is super important—it’s all about keeping users’ sensitive information safe and building their trust. A good place to start is with HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). It’s a set of rules that protect patient health data, and it impacts how you design things like login systems, messaging, and even how data is stored. For example, if your app lets people message therapists or schedule sessions, you’ll need to ensure everything is secure and private.
Depending on where your product will be used, you might also run into other regulations:
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation): This applies in Europe and gives users a lot of control over their data—like the right to access or delete it.
CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act): Similar to GDPR but specific to California, it focuses on transparency and user control over personal data.
FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act): If you’re working on anything related to students and mental health, this one governs how their records are handled.
When designing, you’ll need to think about how these regulations shape your product. For instance:
Privacy by design: Build features with privacy in mind from the start, such as anonymizing data and using secure authentication methods like two-factor authentication.
User control: Allow users to easily access, update, or delete their personal data in compliance with GDPR and similar laws.
Clear communication: Use plain language to explain what data you’re collecting, why, and how it will be used. Users should feel informed and safe using your product.
Focus on User-Centered Design
Designing for mental health means putting the user’s well-being at the heart of everything you create. Many people who use these products are in a vulnerable place, so your design needs to feel safe, supportive, and approachable. This is where empathy-driven design comes in—it’s about understanding their experiences, challenges, and emotional needs, then creating solutions that truly help.
Start by prioritizing user comfort. This means crafting an interface that feels calming and easy to navigate. Avoid overwhelming users with too much information or complex features, and instead guide them with gentle cues and clear, intuitive pathways. For example, use soothing colors, simple language, and reassuring microcopy to make the experience feel less intimidating.
Accessibility should also be a top priority. People come to mental health tools from all walks of life, with varying abilities and needs. Ensure your product is inclusive by offering options like:
Text-to-speech or voice navigation for users with visual impairments.
Flexible font sizes and contrast settings to help those with visual or cognitive challenges.
Clear, simple layouts that reduce cognitive load for users who may be overwhelmed or anxious.
Finally, privacy is non-negotiable in mental health design. People need to feel confident that their personal information and interactions are secure. Build trust by being transparent about how data is collected and used, offering robust security features like encrypted messaging, and allowing users to control their data. For instance, make it easy for them to delete messages, adjust privacy settings, or understand exactly who has access to their information.
When designing, ask yourself: How would I want to feel if I were in this situation? Would the product make me feel cared for and empowered, or would it add to my stress? By keeping the user’s comfort, accessibility, and privacy front and center, you can create mental health products that truly support and uplift the people who need them most.
Mental Health Awareness
If you want to design meaningful mental health products, it’s super important to understand the challenges your users might be going through. Take some time to learn about common conditions like anxiety, depression, and PTSD. This knowledge can help you create features that feel supportive and really resonate with people’s emotional states. Start by learning the basics of these conditions:
Anxiety: Anxiety often involves feelings of excessive worry, restlessness, or difficulty concentrating. Designing for this might mean avoiding overwhelming interfaces, using calming visuals, and ensuring features are easy to access without requiring too many steps.
Depression: People experiencing depression may feel low energy, reduced motivation, or difficulty focusing. Your design can help by being straightforward, encouraging small steps (like daily check-ins), and using supportive, uplifting language.
PTSD: PTSD can involve triggers, flashbacks, or hyper-awareness. A trauma-informed approach might include giving users control, like the ability to opt out of certain features or personalize their experience to feel safe.
Bipolar Disorder: Bipolar I and Bipolar II disorder involves cycles of emotional highs (mania or hypomania) and lows (depression). Designing for this might mean offering features that help users track their mood over time, providing tools for self-regulation, and avoiding overwhelming or overly stimulating interfaces during manic phases.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): People with OCD may experience intrusive thoughts and compulsions to perform certain actions to relieve anxiety. To support them, consider creating a user experience that feels predictable and structured, with tools for managing routines or practicing mindfulness to reduce stress.
Eating Disorders: Conditions like anorexia, bulimia, and binge-eating disorder can involve complex relationships with food, body image, and control. Your designs could include gentle encouragement for healthy behaviors, a focus on self-compassion, and avoiding imagery or language that might trigger negative feelings.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): While not a mental health condition per se, many autistic individuals use mental health tools. Designs should prioritize clarity, consistency, and reduced sensory overload, while also allowing users to customize their experience to suit their needs.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): ADHD can involve difficulty with focus, organization, and impulsivity. Design with features like reminders, task breakdowns, and simple, distraction-free layouts to help users stay on track.
Social Anxiety: This involves intense fear or discomfort in social situations. For users with social anxiety, designs should feel non-judgmental and supportive, with features like guided breathing exercises or encouragement for small, manageable steps toward connecting with others.
Panic Disorder: People with panic disorder experience sudden and intense panic attacks. Your designs could include quick-access calming tools like guided breathing, soothing visuals, or grounding exercises to help users regain control during an attack.
It’s not just about understanding specific conditions, though. Broaden your perspective by learning about emotional challenges like loneliness, burnout, or low self-esteem, which lots of people face. Think about how your design can offer support without judgment—maybe by using gentle, empathetic language or encouraging users to take small, manageable steps.
Explore Therapy Methods
There’s a real benefit to exploring a variety of therapy methods, from mindfulness to Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Each approach offers unique tools and techniques that can inspire your designs and make them more effective for a diverse range of users. Whether it’s helping someone regulate intense emotions, challenge negative thoughts, or practice mindfulness, understanding these methods allows you to create features that truly support users in meaningful ways.
Mindfulness-Based Practices: Mindfulness focuses on being present and cultivating awareness without judgment. It’s effective for reducing stress and managing anxiety. In your designs, you could include:
Guided meditations with calming visuals and audio.
Breathing exercises that adjust pacing based on user input, like tapping or holding a button.
Daily check-ins that prompt users to reflect on their feelings or list moments of gratitude.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): CBT focuses on identifying and reframing negative thought patterns. Features inspired by CBT might include:
Thought-tracking tools to log worries or negative beliefs, paired with tips to challenge them.
Interactive exercises that walk users through common cognitive distortions like “catastrophizing” or “overgeneralization.”
Habit-building tools that help users set small, achievable goals and celebrate progress.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): DBT is particularly useful for managing intense emotions and is often applied in cases like borderline personality disorder or PTSD. It emphasizes skills like distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. Design ideas:
Crisis management tools, such as quick-access calming techniques like grounding exercises.
Emotion regulation charts that help users track and manage their emotional states.
Role-playing scenarios to practice effective communication skills in social interactions.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): ACT helps users focus on their values while accepting difficult emotions rather than fighting them. It’s great for building resilience. Incorporate it into your designs with:
Value exploration tools that guide users to identify and reflect on what matters most to them.
Acceptance prompts, like encouraging users to sit with discomfort through journaling or guided reflections.
Behavior alignment trackers to show how their daily actions align with their values.
Build a Portfolio with Mental Health Projects
Creating a portfolio that highlights your ability to design for mental health is a great way to showcase your passion, creativity, and understanding of this field. Here are some example side-project prompts to help you get started:
Mindfulness and stress management
Daily check-in app: Design an app where users can log their mood, thoughts, and energy levels, with tailored mindfulness or grounding exercises based on their responses.
Guided breathing tool: Create an interactive breathing exercise with customizable options for pacing, visuals, and sounds.
Calm zone widget: Design a quick-access feature (like a mobile widget) that provides soothing visuals, sounds, or short exercises to reduce stress.
Therapy access and management
Therapist finder tool: Prototype an app that helps users find a therapist based on their needs, including filters like specialties, insurance, or session types (in-person vs. virtual).
Session prep guide: Build a tool that helps users prepare for therapy sessions with guided journaling prompts or questions to reflect on beforehand.
Progress tracker: Create a feature that helps users track goals, milestones, and insights from therapy sessions.
Support and community
Peer support platform: Design a safe, anonymous space for users to connect with peers experiencing similar mental health challenges. Include moderation and privacy controls.
Support network builder: Prototype an app that helps users identify and engage their personal support system, with tools like scheduling check-ins or sharing updates.
Education and awareness
Mental health resource hub: Design a website or app that provides accessible, bite-sized information about common mental health conditions and coping strategies.
Interactive psychoeducation modules: Create engaging, gamified lessons that teach users about therapy techniques like CBT or DBT.
Stigma reduction campaign: Prototype a campaign or digital tool that encourages open conversations about mental health in schools or workplaces.
Self-care and resilience
Personalized self-care planner: Build a digital planner that recommends activities based on users’ moods, energy levels, and interests.
Sleep support app: Design an app with guided sleep meditations, white noise generators, or a bedtime journaling feature.
Mood-lifting challenge: Create a gamified experience where users complete small, achievable tasks designed to improve their mood (e.g., writing a gratitude list or taking a 5-minute walk).
Crisis management
Emergency support tool: Prototype a feature for quick access to crisis resources (e.g., hotlines, grounding exercises) tailored to different levels of urgency.
Trigger tracker: Design a tool that helps users identify and manage emotional triggers with strategies for coping or avoidance.
Calming escape: Build a VR or AR experience that transports users to a soothing environment when they’re feeling overwhelmed.
For specific conditions
ADHD task manager: Design a task management app tailored for users with ADHD, featuring visual reminders, focus timers, and a low-clutter interface.
Anxiety de-escalation tool: Create a chatbot or interactive tool that helps users calm down during moments of intense anxiety with grounding exercises or affirmations.
Trauma-informed journal: Prototype a journaling app designed for users with PTSD, offering safe, guided prompts and tools for tracking progress in therapy.
If you’re looking for collaborative opportunities, contribute to mental health-focused non-profits, open-source projects, or hackathons. These initiatives often need design support and provide a chance to work on impactful projects while connecting with like-minded professionals.
Working in the mental health industry is super rewarding because you get to create tools that genuinely help people—whether it’s supporting someone through therapy, making resources more accessible, or reducing the stigma around mental health.
At the same time, it can be a bit challenging. Mental health is a sensitive area, so it takes a lot of empathy and thoughtfulness to design solutions that feel safe, supportive, and approachable for users. There's also a ton of rules and privacy standards, like HIPAA, to keep in mind throughout the process.
That being said, if you’re passionate about helping others and willing to take on the complexity, it’s a fulfilling industry to be part of. With mental health awareness growing, there’s a real demand for designers who care and can create thoughtful, impactful products. Here are my tips to help you make a successful entry:
Research the Industry
Start by getting to know the mental health space—there’s so much happening, and it’s exciting to see how different solutions are helping people in meaningful ways. Start by taking a look at major players to get a sense of the leading solutions and their unique approaches to mental health. Study what makes them successful, the types of users they target, and the problems they solve. For example, some platforms focus on connecting users with licensed therapists, while others prioritize self-help tools like meditation, mindfulness exercises, or mood tracking. These might include:
Therapy platforms: Apps that connect users with therapists for virtual sessions, like BetterHelp, Talkspace, or Grow Therapy.
Mindfulness and wellness apps: Tools like Calm and Headspace that offer meditation, breathing exercises, and stress management techniques.
Clinical management tools: Platforms like Alma and Headway, which help therapists and clinics manage their practices through scheduling, billing, and patient communication.
Self-help resources: Apps that provide guided journaling, CBT exercises, or mood tracking, such as Clarity or DailyBean.
Know the Regulations
When designing for mental health, understanding data privacy rules is super important—it’s all about keeping users’ sensitive information safe and building their trust. A good place to start is with HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). It’s a set of rules that protect patient health data, and it impacts how you design things like login systems, messaging, and even how data is stored. For example, if your app lets people message therapists or schedule sessions, you’ll need to ensure everything is secure and private.
Depending on where your product will be used, you might also run into other regulations:
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation): This applies in Europe and gives users a lot of control over their data—like the right to access or delete it.
CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act): Similar to GDPR but specific to California, it focuses on transparency and user control over personal data.
FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act): If you’re working on anything related to students and mental health, this one governs how their records are handled.
When designing, you’ll need to think about how these regulations shape your product. For instance:
Privacy by design: Build features with privacy in mind from the start, such as anonymizing data and using secure authentication methods like two-factor authentication.
User control: Allow users to easily access, update, or delete their personal data in compliance with GDPR and similar laws.
Clear communication: Use plain language to explain what data you’re collecting, why, and how it will be used. Users should feel informed and safe using your product.
Focus on User-Centered Design
Designing for mental health means putting the user’s well-being at the heart of everything you create. Many people who use these products are in a vulnerable place, so your design needs to feel safe, supportive, and approachable. This is where empathy-driven design comes in—it’s about understanding their experiences, challenges, and emotional needs, then creating solutions that truly help.
Start by prioritizing user comfort. This means crafting an interface that feels calming and easy to navigate. Avoid overwhelming users with too much information or complex features, and instead guide them with gentle cues and clear, intuitive pathways. For example, use soothing colors, simple language, and reassuring microcopy to make the experience feel less intimidating.
Accessibility should also be a top priority. People come to mental health tools from all walks of life, with varying abilities and needs. Ensure your product is inclusive by offering options like:
Text-to-speech or voice navigation for users with visual impairments.
Flexible font sizes and contrast settings to help those with visual or cognitive challenges.
Clear, simple layouts that reduce cognitive load for users who may be overwhelmed or anxious.
Finally, privacy is non-negotiable in mental health design. People need to feel confident that their personal information and interactions are secure. Build trust by being transparent about how data is collected and used, offering robust security features like encrypted messaging, and allowing users to control their data. For instance, make it easy for them to delete messages, adjust privacy settings, or understand exactly who has access to their information.
When designing, ask yourself: How would I want to feel if I were in this situation? Would the product make me feel cared for and empowered, or would it add to my stress? By keeping the user’s comfort, accessibility, and privacy front and center, you can create mental health products that truly support and uplift the people who need them most.
Mental Health Awareness
If you want to design meaningful mental health products, it’s super important to understand the challenges your users might be going through. Take some time to learn about common conditions like anxiety, depression, and PTSD. This knowledge can help you create features that feel supportive and really resonate with people’s emotional states. Start by learning the basics of these conditions:
Anxiety: Anxiety often involves feelings of excessive worry, restlessness, or difficulty concentrating. Designing for this might mean avoiding overwhelming interfaces, using calming visuals, and ensuring features are easy to access without requiring too many steps.
Depression: People experiencing depression may feel low energy, reduced motivation, or difficulty focusing. Your design can help by being straightforward, encouraging small steps (like daily check-ins), and using supportive, uplifting language.
PTSD: PTSD can involve triggers, flashbacks, or hyper-awareness. A trauma-informed approach might include giving users control, like the ability to opt out of certain features or personalize their experience to feel safe.
Bipolar Disorder: Bipolar I and Bipolar II disorder involves cycles of emotional highs (mania or hypomania) and lows (depression). Designing for this might mean offering features that help users track their mood over time, providing tools for self-regulation, and avoiding overwhelming or overly stimulating interfaces during manic phases.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): People with OCD may experience intrusive thoughts and compulsions to perform certain actions to relieve anxiety. To support them, consider creating a user experience that feels predictable and structured, with tools for managing routines or practicing mindfulness to reduce stress.
Eating Disorders: Conditions like anorexia, bulimia, and binge-eating disorder can involve complex relationships with food, body image, and control. Your designs could include gentle encouragement for healthy behaviors, a focus on self-compassion, and avoiding imagery or language that might trigger negative feelings.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): While not a mental health condition per se, many autistic individuals use mental health tools. Designs should prioritize clarity, consistency, and reduced sensory overload, while also allowing users to customize their experience to suit their needs.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): ADHD can involve difficulty with focus, organization, and impulsivity. Design with features like reminders, task breakdowns, and simple, distraction-free layouts to help users stay on track.
Social Anxiety: This involves intense fear or discomfort in social situations. For users with social anxiety, designs should feel non-judgmental and supportive, with features like guided breathing exercises or encouragement for small, manageable steps toward connecting with others.
Panic Disorder: People with panic disorder experience sudden and intense panic attacks. Your designs could include quick-access calming tools like guided breathing, soothing visuals, or grounding exercises to help users regain control during an attack.
It’s not just about understanding specific conditions, though. Broaden your perspective by learning about emotional challenges like loneliness, burnout, or low self-esteem, which lots of people face. Think about how your design can offer support without judgment—maybe by using gentle, empathetic language or encouraging users to take small, manageable steps.
Explore Therapy Methods
There’s a real benefit to exploring a variety of therapy methods, from mindfulness to Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Each approach offers unique tools and techniques that can inspire your designs and make them more effective for a diverse range of users. Whether it’s helping someone regulate intense emotions, challenge negative thoughts, or practice mindfulness, understanding these methods allows you to create features that truly support users in meaningful ways.
Mindfulness-Based Practices: Mindfulness focuses on being present and cultivating awareness without judgment. It’s effective for reducing stress and managing anxiety. In your designs, you could include:
Guided meditations with calming visuals and audio.
Breathing exercises that adjust pacing based on user input, like tapping or holding a button.
Daily check-ins that prompt users to reflect on their feelings or list moments of gratitude.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): CBT focuses on identifying and reframing negative thought patterns. Features inspired by CBT might include:
Thought-tracking tools to log worries or negative beliefs, paired with tips to challenge them.
Interactive exercises that walk users through common cognitive distortions like “catastrophizing” or “overgeneralization.”
Habit-building tools that help users set small, achievable goals and celebrate progress.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): DBT is particularly useful for managing intense emotions and is often applied in cases like borderline personality disorder or PTSD. It emphasizes skills like distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. Design ideas:
Crisis management tools, such as quick-access calming techniques like grounding exercises.
Emotion regulation charts that help users track and manage their emotional states.
Role-playing scenarios to practice effective communication skills in social interactions.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): ACT helps users focus on their values while accepting difficult emotions rather than fighting them. It’s great for building resilience. Incorporate it into your designs with:
Value exploration tools that guide users to identify and reflect on what matters most to them.
Acceptance prompts, like encouraging users to sit with discomfort through journaling or guided reflections.
Behavior alignment trackers to show how their daily actions align with their values.
Build a Portfolio with Mental Health Projects
Creating a portfolio that highlights your ability to design for mental health is a great way to showcase your passion, creativity, and understanding of this field. Here are some example side-project prompts to help you get started:
Mindfulness and Stress Management
Daily check-in app: Design an app where users can log their mood, thoughts, and energy levels, with tailored mindfulness or grounding exercises based on their responses.
Guided breathing tool: Create an interactive breathing exercise with customizable options for pacing, visuals, and sounds.
Calm zone widget: Design a quick-access feature (like a mobile widget) that provides soothing visuals, sounds, or short exercises to reduce stress.
Therapy Access and Management
Therapist finder tool: Prototype an app that helps users find a therapist based on their needs, including filters like specialties, insurance, or session types (in-person vs. virtual).
Session prep guide: Build a tool that helps users prepare for therapy sessions with guided journaling prompts or questions to reflect on beforehand.
Progress tracker: Create a feature that helps users track goals, milestones, and insights from therapy sessions.
Support and Community
Peer support platform: Design a safe, anonymous space for users to connect with peers experiencing similar mental health challenges. Include moderation and privacy controls.
Support network builder: Prototype an app that helps users identify and engage their personal support system, with tools like scheduling check-ins or sharing updates.
Education and Awareness
Mental health resource hub: Design a website or app that provides accessible, bite-sized information about common mental health conditions and coping strategies.
Interactive psychoeducation modules: Create engaging, gamified lessons that teach users about therapy techniques like CBT or DBT.
Stigma reduction campaign: Prototype a campaign or digital tool that encourages open conversations about mental health in schools or workplaces.
Self-Care and Resilience
Personalized self-care planner: Build a digital planner that recommends activities based on users’ moods, energy levels, and interests.
Sleep support app: Design an app with guided sleep meditations, white noise generators, or a bedtime journaling feature.
Mood-lifting challenge: Create a gamified experience where users complete small, achievable tasks designed to improve their mood (e.g., writing a gratitude list or taking a 5-minute walk).
Crisis Management
Emergency support tool: Prototype a feature for quick access to crisis resources (e.g., hotlines, grounding exercises) tailored to different levels of urgency.
Trigger tracker: Design a tool that helps users identify and manage emotional triggers with strategies for coping or avoidance.
Calming escape: Build a VR or AR experience that transports users to a soothing environment when they’re feeling overwhelmed.
For Specific Conditions
ADHD task manager: Design a task management app tailored for users with ADHD, featuring visual reminders, focus timers, and a low-clutter interface.
Anxiety de-escalation tool: Create a chatbot or interactive tool that helps users calm down during moments of intense anxiety with grounding exercises or affirmations.
Trauma-informed journal: Prototype a journaling app designed for users with PTSD, offering safe, guided prompts and tools for tracking progress in therapy.
If you’re looking for collaborative opportunities, contribute to mental health-focused non-profits, open-source projects, or hackathons. These initiatives often need design support and provide a chance to work on impactful projects while connecting with like-minded professionals.
Working in the mental health industry is super rewarding because you get to create tools that genuinely help people—whether it’s supporting someone through therapy, making resources more accessible, or reducing the stigma around mental health.
At the same time, it can be a bit challenging. Mental health is a sensitive area, so it takes a lot of empathy and thoughtfulness to design solutions that feel safe, supportive, and approachable for users. There's also a ton of rules and privacy standards, like HIPAA, to keep in mind throughout the process.
That being said, if you’re passionate about helping others and willing to take on the complexity, it’s a fulfilling industry to be part of. With mental health awareness growing, there’s a real demand for designers who care and can create thoughtful, impactful products. Here are my tips to help you make a successful entry:
Research the Industry
Start by getting to know the mental health space—there’s so much happening, and it’s exciting to see how different solutions are helping people in meaningful ways. Start by taking a look at major players to get a sense of the leading solutions and their unique approaches to mental health. Study what makes them successful, the types of users they target, and the problems they solve. For example, some platforms focus on connecting users with licensed therapists, while others prioritize self-help tools like meditation, mindfulness exercises, or mood tracking. These might include:
Therapy platforms: Apps that connect users with therapists for virtual sessions, like BetterHelp, Talkspace, or Grow Therapy.
Mindfulness and wellness apps: Tools like Calm and Headspace that offer meditation, breathing exercises, and stress management techniques.
Clinical management tools: Platforms like Alma and Headway, which help therapists and clinics manage their practices through scheduling, billing, and patient communication.
Self-help resources: Apps that provide guided journaling, CBT exercises, or mood tracking, such as Clarity or DailyBean.
Know the Regulations
When designing for mental health, understanding data privacy rules is super important—it’s all about keeping users’ sensitive information safe and building their trust. A good place to start is with HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). It’s a set of rules that protect patient health data, and it impacts how you design things like login systems, messaging, and even how data is stored. For example, if your app lets people message therapists or schedule sessions, you’ll need to ensure everything is secure and private.
Depending on where your product will be used, you might also run into other regulations:
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation): This applies in Europe and gives users a lot of control over their data—like the right to access or delete it.
CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act): Similar to GDPR but specific to California, it focuses on transparency and user control over personal data.
FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act): If you’re working on anything related to students and mental health, this one governs how their records are handled.
When designing, you’ll need to think about how these regulations shape your product. For instance:
Privacy by design: Build features with privacy in mind from the start, such as anonymizing data and using secure authentication methods like two-factor authentication.
User control: Allow users to easily access, update, or delete their personal data in compliance with GDPR and similar laws.
Clear communication: Use plain language to explain what data you’re collecting, why, and how it will be used. Users should feel informed and safe using your product.
Focus on User-Centered Design
Designing for mental health means putting the user’s well-being at the heart of everything you create. Many people who use these products are in a vulnerable place, so your design needs to feel safe, supportive, and approachable. This is where empathy-driven design comes in—it’s about understanding their experiences, challenges, and emotional needs, then creating solutions that truly help.
Start by prioritizing user comfort. This means crafting an interface that feels calming and easy to navigate. Avoid overwhelming users with too much information or complex features, and instead guide them with gentle cues and clear, intuitive pathways. For example, use soothing colors, simple language, and reassuring microcopy to make the experience feel less intimidating.
Accessibility should also be a top priority. People come to mental health tools from all walks of life, with varying abilities and needs. Ensure your product is inclusive by offering options like:
Text-to-speech or voice navigation for users with visual impairments.
Flexible font sizes and contrast settings to help those with visual or cognitive challenges.
Clear, simple layouts that reduce cognitive load for users who may be overwhelmed or anxious.
Finally, privacy is non-negotiable in mental health design. People need to feel confident that their personal information and interactions are secure. Build trust by being transparent about how data is collected and used, offering robust security features like encrypted messaging, and allowing users to control their data. For instance, make it easy for them to delete messages, adjust privacy settings, or understand exactly who has access to their information.
When designing, ask yourself: How would I want to feel if I were in this situation? Would the product make me feel cared for and empowered, or would it add to my stress? By keeping the user’s comfort, accessibility, and privacy front and center, you can create mental health products that truly support and uplift the people who need them most.
Mental Health Awareness
If you want to design meaningful mental health products, it’s super important to understand the challenges your users might be going through. Take some time to learn about common conditions like anxiety, depression, and PTSD. This knowledge can help you create features that feel supportive and really resonate with people’s emotional states. Start by learning the basics of these conditions:
Anxiety: Anxiety often involves feelings of excessive worry, restlessness, or difficulty concentrating. Designing for this might mean avoiding overwhelming interfaces, using calming visuals, and ensuring features are easy to access without requiring too many steps.
Depression: People experiencing depression may feel low energy, reduced motivation, or difficulty focusing. Your design can help by being straightforward, encouraging small steps (like daily check-ins), and using supportive, uplifting language.
PTSD: PTSD can involve triggers, flashbacks, or hyper-awareness. A trauma-informed approach might include giving users control, like the ability to opt out of certain features or personalize their experience to feel safe.
Bipolar Disorder: Bipolar I and Bipolar II disorder involves cycles of emotional highs (mania or hypomania) and lows (depression). Designing for this might mean offering features that help users track their mood over time, providing tools for self-regulation, and avoiding overwhelming or overly stimulating interfaces during manic phases.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): People with OCD may experience intrusive thoughts and compulsions to perform certain actions to relieve anxiety. To support them, consider creating a user experience that feels predictable and structured, with tools for managing routines or practicing mindfulness to reduce stress.
Eating Disorders: Conditions like anorexia, bulimia, and binge-eating disorder can involve complex relationships with food, body image, and control. Your designs could include gentle encouragement for healthy behaviors, a focus on self-compassion, and avoiding imagery or language that might trigger negative feelings.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): While not a mental health condition per se, many autistic individuals use mental health tools. Designs should prioritize clarity, consistency, and reduced sensory overload, while also allowing users to customize their experience to suit their needs.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): ADHD can involve difficulty with focus, organization, and impulsivity. Design with features like reminders, task breakdowns, and simple, distraction-free layouts to help users stay on track.
Social Anxiety: This involves intense fear or discomfort in social situations. For users with social anxiety, designs should feel non-judgmental and supportive, with features like guided breathing exercises or encouragement for small, manageable steps toward connecting with others.
Panic Disorder: People with panic disorder experience sudden and intense panic attacks. Your designs could include quick-access calming tools like guided breathing, soothing visuals, or grounding exercises to help users regain control during an attack.
It’s not just about understanding specific conditions, though. Broaden your perspective by learning about emotional challenges like loneliness, burnout, or low self-esteem, which lots of people face. Think about how your design can offer support without judgment—maybe by using gentle, empathetic language or encouraging users to take small, manageable steps.
Explore Therapy Methods
There’s a real benefit to exploring a variety of therapy methods, from mindfulness to Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Each approach offers unique tools and techniques that can inspire your designs and make them more effective for a diverse range of users. Whether it’s helping someone regulate intense emotions, challenge negative thoughts, or practice mindfulness, understanding these methods allows you to create features that truly support users in meaningful ways.
Mindfulness-Based Practices: Mindfulness focuses on being present and cultivating awareness without judgment. It’s effective for reducing stress and managing anxiety. In your designs, you could include:
Guided meditations with calming visuals and audio.
Breathing exercises that adjust pacing based on user input, like tapping or holding a button.
Daily check-ins that prompt users to reflect on their feelings or list moments of gratitude.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): CBT focuses on identifying and reframing negative thought patterns. Features inspired by CBT might include:
Thought-tracking tools to log worries or negative beliefs, paired with tips to challenge them.
Interactive exercises that walk users through common cognitive distortions like “catastrophizing” or “overgeneralization.”
Habit-building tools that help users set small, achievable goals and celebrate progress.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): DBT is particularly useful for managing intense emotions and is often applied in cases like borderline personality disorder or PTSD. It emphasizes skills like distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. Design ideas:
Crisis management tools, such as quick-access calming techniques like grounding exercises.
Emotion regulation charts that help users track and manage their emotional states.
Role-playing scenarios to practice effective communication skills in social interactions.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): ACT helps users focus on their values while accepting difficult emotions rather than fighting them. It’s great for building resilience. Incorporate it into your designs with:
Value exploration tools that guide users to identify and reflect on what matters most to them.
Acceptance prompts, like encouraging users to sit with discomfort through journaling or guided reflections.
Behavior alignment trackers to show how their daily actions align with their values.
Build a Portfolio with Mental Health Projects
Creating a portfolio that highlights your ability to design for mental health is a great way to showcase your passion, creativity, and understanding of this field. Here are some example side-project prompts to help you get started:
Mindfulness and Stress Management
Daily check-in app: Design an app where users can log their mood, thoughts, and energy levels, with tailored mindfulness or grounding exercises based on their responses.
Guided breathing tool: Create an interactive breathing exercise with customizable options for pacing, visuals, and sounds.
Calm zone widget: Design a quick-access feature (like a mobile widget) that provides soothing visuals, sounds, or short exercises to reduce stress.
Therapy Access and Management
Therapist finder tool: Prototype an app that helps users find a therapist based on their needs, including filters like specialties, insurance, or session types (in-person vs. virtual).
Session prep guide: Build a tool that helps users prepare for therapy sessions with guided journaling prompts or questions to reflect on beforehand.
Progress tracker: Create a feature that helps users track goals, milestones, and insights from therapy sessions.
Support and Community
Peer support platform: Design a safe, anonymous space for users to connect with peers experiencing similar mental health challenges. Include moderation and privacy controls.
Support network builder: Prototype an app that helps users identify and engage their personal support system, with tools like scheduling check-ins or sharing updates.
Education and Awareness
Mental health resource hub: Design a website or app that provides accessible, bite-sized information about common mental health conditions and coping strategies.
Interactive psychoeducation modules: Create engaging, gamified lessons that teach users about therapy techniques like CBT or DBT.
Stigma reduction campaign: Prototype a campaign or digital tool that encourages open conversations about mental health in schools or workplaces.
Self-Care and Resilience
Personalized self-care planner: Build a digital planner that recommends activities based on users’ moods, energy levels, and interests.
Sleep support app: Design an app with guided sleep meditations, white noise generators, or a bedtime journaling feature.
Mood-lifting challenge: Create a gamified experience where users complete small, achievable tasks designed to improve their mood (e.g., writing a gratitude list or taking a 5-minute walk).
Crisis Management
Emergency support tool: Prototype a feature for quick access to crisis resources (e.g., hotlines, grounding exercises) tailored to different levels of urgency.
Trigger tracker: Design a tool that helps users identify and manage emotional triggers with strategies for coping or avoidance.
Calming escape: Build a VR or AR experience that transports users to a soothing environment when they’re feeling overwhelmed.
For Specific Conditions
ADHD task manager: Design a task management app tailored for users with ADHD, featuring visual reminders, focus timers, and a low-clutter interface.
Anxiety de-escalation tool: Create a chatbot or interactive tool that helps users calm down during moments of intense anxiety with grounding exercises or affirmations.
Trauma-informed journal: Prototype a journaling app designed for users with PTSD, offering safe, guided prompts and tools for tracking progress in therapy.
If you’re looking for collaborative opportunities, contribute to mental health-focused non-profits, open-source projects, or hackathons. These initiatives often need design support and provide a chance to work on impactful projects while connecting with like-minded professionals.
BetterHelp Product Design Internship: Summer 2022
This past summer, I interned (remotely) at BetterHelp as a Product Design and Content Intern for 3–4 months.
My time there was packed with growth opportunities. As both my first internship and the company’s first formal internship program, I was able to customize my experience to fit my learning goals. I made the most of my time by connecting with new colleagues, gaining insights into the company through regular meetings and events, and honing my skills through hands-on project work!
Background
I’m in my fourth year of studying Communication and Media Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. My design background is non-traditional, and I’ve gained most of my experience through extracurricular activities and professional opportunities outside school.
What is BetterHelp?
BetterHelp is an online counseling and therapy platform that connects individuals with licensed therapists for affordable and accessible mental health support. Offering a range of specialties, including individual, couple, and family therapy, BetterHelp provides a convenient and confidential alternative to traditional in-person therapy. With a mission to make mental health care accessible to all, BetterHelp offers online therapy sessions via text, phone, or video.
By making therapy accessible online, BetterHelp is helping to reduce the stigma associated with mental health and increase the number of people who can receive the care they need, regardless of their location or schedule. The company aims to improve the overall mental well-being of individuals and communities by providing high-quality, accessible mental health care. This mission was at the core of every meeting, project, and objective during my time at the company.
The Interview Process
I was actively applying for internship roles when I found BetterHelp’s listing on LinkedIn. There was an initial Workable application to collect general information, along with your resume and portfolio work.
The day-to-day tasks were advertised as follows:
Contribute to user research and usability testing (planning and post-research analysis).
Design thoughtful UI/UX solutions to pain points identified through user research/testing.
Document visual and language inconsistencies throughout the product.
Help maintain and improve both the design system and internal processes.
The interview process for this role consisted of an informational interview with a recruiter, an online portfolio review with a Senior UX Designer and UX Writer, and lastly, a group video call where I had the opportunity to formally share some of my work and meet with more of the team (the design manager, other product designers, etc.).
Application timeline — April 2022
I had a fantastic time working with Andrew Santore, my recruiter. He streamlined the process with timely email communication and constructive answers & feedback!
My Team
My internship revolved around the daily operations of the company’s sole product design team, and I was immersed in everyone’s meetings and active projects from the get-go. The group, led by the fantastic design manager Andrea Chen, was small yet mighty. During my time there, I had the opportunity to work under the guidance of Senior UX Designer Alexis Maietta and UX Writer Cole Waldron. When I wasn’t busy, I collaborated with other talented designers: Chris Ko, Alex Ross, Josie Biteng, and Cole Fortson!
I was officially employed in the company’s Research and Development department. Therefore, the design team worked directly with product managers and developers to create new features and initiatives. I spent a lot of time cross-collaborating with those roles as a result.
What did I do?
Research
As mentioned, I could choose what projects I wanted to tackle throughout my internship to maximize my learning experience. In the initial phase of my role, I dedicated the first week to researching and analyzing the existing product. I first took a deep dive into the company’s resources for user feedback, taking notes on common complaints, suggestions, and pain points. I also had several conversations with people from the Clinical and Member Success teams to gain clarification on any missing features and possibilities for expansion. Finally, I compiled all my findings into an organized document, which I presented to my design team for review.
To my surprise, the document I created with these insights was shared with other product managers across BetterHelp. It was particularly heartening to know that my insights and analyses had captured their attention and were deemed to be of value. Also, my efforts led to discussions about potential growth opportunities and experiment ideas for the company!
Design
Throughout my internship, I focused on improving the client-side account settings page. More specifically, I designed a feature addition that gave users more information about their therapist in their account settings.
I had two smaller projects left as design proposals at the end of my internship: (1) profile picture improvements and (2) navigation system upgrades. I, unfortunately, didn’t have enough time to see these through to the end, but I hope to see them live on the site one day!
Develop
Not only did I have the chance to design a fully-fledged concept from sketch to prototype, but I also had the opportunity to work with a team of developers and data scientists to put it into action on the BetterHelp platform. We conducted an experiment to measure my design’s success, which was an exciting process.
Working with a developer was a new experience for me. While I was responsible for researching and designing the core user experience, developers brought that design to life by writing the code to make the product function as intended. I learned how to create detailed and accurate wireframes and design specifications for handoff. I met with my developer several times to review any technical or design-related issues, but mainly to ensure the design vision was maintained throughout the process.
I also learned a ton working with the data science team; we worked together to set up and run an A/B test to evaluate the effectiveness of different design decisions. We had several meetings to choose the appropriate metrics to measure the prototype and test’s success and set up the necessary tracking and data analysis systems.
Side Quests
In addition to my primary projects, I shadowed and assisted the other product designers with their everyday tasks. I learned how to draft a user interview flow with one designer and took detailed notes while she moderated conversations with BetterHelp’s users. Another designer was working on an updated design system, so I had to chance to create a new set of segmented picker components for him. Our UX writer allowed me to suggest changes for a project on updating some SMS copy, and my suggestions were later entirely accepted into sprint (my first official win!).
The Company Itself
Meetings
As an intern, I had a full schedule of meetings each week. From company gatherings to sprint meetings, project discussions to design critiques, one-on-ones with my manager, and bi-weekly team meetings, I was constantly engaged with my colleagues. I also took advantage of the opportunity to meet with other team members to gain insight into their work and advice on project challenges. This led to fantastic shadowing opportunities and collaborations that greatly enriched my internship experience. Building personal connections and bonding over shared interests with coworkers made my time at BetterHelp truly memorable.
Design Critiques
Once a week, the design team would gather to review ongoing projects. Each team member showcased their work, including updates on the design system and newly created components, and presented detailed prototype flows. This regular check-in not only gave me a glimpse into my colleagues’ daily tasks but also allowed for a comprehensive overview of the design-to-development process. The feedback received during these meetings was invaluable, and I made sure to put it into practice on my projects.
Work-Life Balance
At BetterHelp, the company culture and mission prioritize their employees’ mental health and well-being. My team supported and valued me throughout my internship, and the work atmosphere always prioritized my mental well-being.
Welcome Box with BetterHelp Merch
An anecdote to convey the importance of work-life balance for the company: after completing my first week on the team, I opened my computer at 9 AM on Monday, expecting a flood of messages from the weekend. To my surprise, there was nothing! No notifications, no emails, no urgent tasks. Every Monday, we were refreshed from the weekend and hit the ground running, which was amazing for my productivity.
Work-on-Site (WOW) Week
I’ll begin with one of the coolest features of the internship: the Work-on-Site week. Research has shown that bringing remote teams together for collaborative events has many valuable benefits, including increased productivity, employee satisfaction, and a greater sense of community. BetterHelp leverages these outcomes by bringing their remote teams together to Mountain View, CA, once every few weeks.
I completed my internship remotely from Sacramento, CA. I was invited to join the Product team on-site halfway through my internship, and I was lucky enough to have my hotel & transportation covered by the company — a HUGE perk. While on-site, I had the fantastic opportunity to meet the product managers, developers, and designers I had worked with for the past few weeks! We had meals together, participated in bonding events, and got some work done in person. The office was fun, relaxing, and had all the amenities you could want; I even got an assigned desk for the week!
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My hotel room & office space in Mountain View, CA
Free Food
The interns were spoiled when it came to free food, whether we were in the office or at home. During the WOW week, it was food heaven: Kona Shaved Ice and Chicken & Waffles trucks outside the office, catered lunches, and team dinners. They were all fantastic opportunities to sit and bond with coworkers over yummy meals.
One of my favorite moments was spending time with my team at a local udon stop — we spent hours talking about anything and everything, from their experiences as women in tech to how the design industry has changed in recent years.
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Food options at the office in Mountain View, CA
Intern Events
As the sole Product Design intern, I was given numerous opportunities to connect with my cohort virtually and in person. During the WOW week, I had the chance to enjoy lunches, dinners, and leisurely walks around downtown Mountain View with my fellow interns.
We also participated in four remote events as a group, including an online escape room, a virtual paint night, workshops on goal-setting and resume building, and a small-group meeting with BetterHelp’s CEO Alon Matas, where we learned about his background and the company’s vision. These experiences fostered a sense of community and camaraderie among us, and I am proud to say that I am still in touch with many of my cohort members to this day!
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On-site matcha run & Intern Paint Night from home
In the End…
On the last day of my internship, my manager threw a going-away party with everyone I worked with: my design team, product manager, and recruiter. We shared our best memories from working together and reflected on some of my highlights, particularly how much I had changed as a designer from the start to the end of my internship.
Overall, my internship was a dream. All of my hard work from the past few years led me to this opportunity, and I came out of it so fulfilled, inspired, and even more in love with design than I ever have been. I’m forever grateful to Alexis, Andrea, the rest of the design team, and everyone else at BetterHelp who influenced my experience in even the smallest ways.
Special thanks to Tiffany Eaton and her DocuSign Product Design Internship Summer 2016 article, which I used as a framework to write my own!
