Psychology Today Therapist Directory
Background
Psychology Today's therapist directory is one of the largest global platforms for connecting people with licensed mental health professionals. Despite being a trusted resource, the experience often feels overwhelming and impersonal. My goal for this project was to redesign key aspects of the site to make it more personal and user-friendly.
Problem
User research revealed that Psychology Today's directory often leaves people feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, and emotionally unsupported during an already vulnerable process.
Participants struggled with:
● Choice overload: Too many filters and results, difficult to narrow down.
● Unclear/inaccurate information: Mismatched insurance coverage, unclear availability, and hidden pricing.
● Cold, text-heavy profiles: users described experience as "a bad dating site."
Overall, users desired a simpler, more transparent, and empathetic experience to help them find a therapist who genuinely feels like a good fit.
Process
I started by collecting insights through a user survey and a usability test to identify the parts of the platform that felt overwhelming and disconnected. This allowed me to reveal important pain points, including insufficient personalization, unclear pricing, and an excessive amount of information.
Using that data, I developed two user personas to represent the primary audience. I then examined ways to enhance the experience for both simplicity and emotional engagement.
Next, I drew several wireframe sketches addressing the pain points that were uncovered. This included revamped multi-column therapist profiles, distinct calls-to-action, and a guided therapist match questionnaire.
After that, I took my sketches and put together a prototype in Figma. Finally, I tested the prototype with users and made significant adjustments based on their feedback.
Results
● User retention improved by addressing typical drop-off issues like unclear therapist information and difficulties booking directly.
● The redesign turned Psychology Today’s therapist directory from a cold, text-heavy website into a more approachable, intuitive, and emotionally supportive experience.
● Features such as direct booking, expandable therapist profiles, and questionnaires enable users to make quicker and more confident decisions.
● Use of multi-column layout for therapist profiles and therapist-match questionnaire helps establish Psychology Today as a more reliable and empathetic mental health platform.
