The COVID-19 pandemic changed life as we knew it over night. Think about the culmination of job loss, isolating conditions of a lockdown, or potentially losing loved ones. Besides, the pandemic affects mental health and limits access to on-site psychotherapy. 

In the Netherlands, for example, face-to-face psychotherapy visits for people with severe mental illness dropped to 26% in April. Without timely support, even the mild cases will exacerbate.

Until a cure or a vaccine against COVID-19 is invented, mental health apps might fill the existing treatment gap by reaching people with limited or no access to professional mental health services.

In 2019 Therapieland, one of the leading e-mental health providers in the Netherlands, released a mobile application under the name Therapieland Monitor. With it, people can track their sleep, stress, and mood as well as follow a few relaxation exercises.

The objectives of this research were to explore design features and identify usability issues as needed to optimize Therapieland Monitor during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

With no access to user data,  I decided to first administer this online survey with Google Forms to explore the problem space and recruit participants for remote usability testing. In total 54 people filled out the online survey.

Mental health was listed as the fourth aspect of life that was affected by COVID-19. Participants were familiar with Headspace, but only 2 had previously heard of Therapieland Monitor. Slightly more than half of all participants had never used a mental health app to treat psychological complaints while the rest had used mental health apps at some point in the last year.

The purpose of this analysis was to understand what the market space for mental health apps looked like. Common design features were outlined and categorized in terms of psychological symptoms and interventions. The table below is an overview of how Therapieland Monitor performs in relation to other competitors.

Like other tools, Therapieland Monitor taps on the benefits of self-tracking, goal setting, and meditation to encourage symptom recognition, behavior change, and self-reflexivity. Despite this similarity with other competitors, this general mental health app does not enjoy huge engagement.

I conducted this remote usability testing with 6 volunteers between the ages of 18 and 34 to understand how novices would use Therapieland Monitor. By observing how people used the app, I could identify several usability issues and areas of improvement, which the developers might have missed.

My challenge was to find a cheap way, which was also not obtrusive for participants. I implemented the so-called “hug the laptop” procedure. Participants did not have to install any software on their smartphones or laptops. I asked them to think out loud while doing the assigned tasks, so I could record their open opinions and reactions.

All participants could identify the main features via a central dashboard. Design is basic, unobtrusive, and clean. Headings are straightforward and self-explanatory. However, participants experienced 5 major issues.

This method helped me grasp behavioral patterns of how participants used the app during the usability testing. This spreadsheet gives a focused overview of the frequency and severity of issues encountered. It also draws attention to issues with particular features. I can quickly share findings with a list of recommendations at a glance.

I created this empathy map to gain a deeper understanding of participants’ profiles, thoughts, behaviors, and feelings. By stepping into the shoes of others, I attempted to show areas that require attention. Because participants belong to the segment of novice Therapieland app users, who are highly educated young professionals, I organized the findings of all participants into one diagram.