Empowering Parents in Children's Mental Health
Project Scope
Role & Team
Key Metrics
Deliverables
1 in 5 children face diagnosable mental health conditions, but 80% lack adequate care. Parents are desperate for solutions but face overwhelming barriers
These challenges lead to:
Expertise Gap
Parents lack specialized knowledge to identify early warning signs of mental health issues
Access to Care
Most children with mental illness lack adequate professional care
Trust Barriers
Mental health resources online lack credibility, making it difficult for parents to determine what advice to follow
The Opportunity
How might we empower parents with the tools and knowledge they need to support their children's mental health journey?
Creating an intuitive mobile app that:
Building Trust in a Sensitive Space
Parents seeking mental health resources for their children need more than just functionality—they need confidence in the expertise, data practices, and legitimacy of the platform. This critical evolution focused on establishing trust through credibility signals, transparent data policies, and reduced friction.
Real photos create immediate trust by humanizing clinical expertise
6/6 user interviews confirmed that fellow parents' experiences significantly enhanced credibility
Detailed qualifications provide transparent credibility markers for quick assessment
Flexible Logging: Meeting Parents Where They Are
Parents need to track their child's mental health in ways that fit their unique circumstances. Our challenge was creating a system that would capture useful data while accommodating diverse conditions, preferences, and levels of commitment.
Implemented profile switching after user interviews revealed the need to track siblings separately
Designed a two-click interface with emoji selection to minimize friction in daily tracking
Added visual day selection with one-click access to historical data visualization
Initial attempt to add accountability and customization, though requiring further refinement
Curating Resources That Deliver Real Value
Parents face an overwhelming sea of mental health information with no way to determine what's credible. Our challenge was curating expert-vetted resources that eliminated decision fatigue and presented actionable insights parents could immediately apply to their family's needs.
Instituted a one-click filtering system to surface relevant content instantly
Organized content into clear topics to reduce cognitive load for stressed parents
Implemented age ranges after 80% of testers identified this as their primary search criteria
Prominently featured expert credentials to establish immediate credibility - Trust being a key differentiator
What's Next: Insights & Opportunities
Reflecting on our journey and looking ahead to future challenges and possibilities.
What I Learned
Metrics drive design priorities
Align UX decisions with business goals to create purposeful experiences that deliver measurable results.
Focus beats ambition
Our redesign scope was too broad. Decisive prioritization of core features would have yielded better outcomes faster.
Respect fuels collaboration
In high-pressure environments, acknowledging diverse perspectives prevents frustration and enables teams to produce their best work together.
