Domain Playbooks

Mental Health Apps

UX strategies for sensitive user experiences
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Mental health apps serve users in vulnerable states. Design decisions that would be minor in other domains can have significant impact on user wellbeing.

Emotional Safety in Design

Mental health apps must be designed with emotional safety as a primary constraint:

  • Language: Non-judgmental, supportive, never shaming
  • Tone: Calm, warm, professional — not overly cheerful or clinical
  • Pacing: Let users control the pace. Don’t rush or pressure.
  • Exit paths: Easy ways to pause, skip, or leave any interaction

Crisis Detection and Intervention

Plan for crisis situations:

  • Detection: Keyword and sentiment analysis to identify users in crisis
  • Intervention: Clear, non-disruptive crisis resources (988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline)
  • Warm transfer: Seamless transition to human support when needed
  • Follow-up: Check-in after a crisis event
  • Regulatory: HIPAA considerations for crisis data

Privacy and Anonymity

Mental health data is among the most sensitive:

  • Anonymity options: Allow anonymous or pseudonymous participation
  • Granular sharing: Let users control what specific data is shared with providers
  • Discrete notifications: Notification content should not reveal the app’s purpose
  • Data deletion: Easy and complete deletion of sensitive content

Therapeutic Alliance in Digital Contexts

Building trust through digital interactions:

  • Consistency: Reliable responses and predictable interactions
  • Empathy: Acknowledging user emotions, not just their inputs
  • Transparency: Clear about what the AI can and cannot do
  • Human backup: Easy path to human support when needed