On 7 October 2026, during a nest session with Hakeem Javaid, designer and programmer, we looked at one of the biggest issues facing anyone developing digital mental health tools: how can we develop products that allow users to get the support they need when they need it most? Hakeem provided practical examples of how UX design can help make digital support more accessible and user-friendly.
In digital mental health, having a unique idea is only the beginning. How users find, access and interact with a product will determine whether or not the user receives the benefits of the product, and ultimately whether they continue to use the product or give up using it.
UX design is about understanding what the user behind the screen needs, eliminating roadblocks and providing support to the user at the appropriate time. Digital mental health tools must be able to address the realities of people's lives, especially when people are experiencing anxiety, emotional distress or times when it is difficult to think clearly.
Here are four takeaways from the session.
Map two journeys instead of one
There are two journeys worth mapping when developing a digital mental health tool: the user's journey before using the product, and their journey after they start using it.
The first journey helps identify frustrations, unmet needs, emotional challenges and barriers to accessing support. The second shows how the product changes that experience. Comparing the two helps you understand whether the product makes support easier to access, reduces uncertainty and helps users feel more in control.
That emotional shift could be the product's strongest selling point. Instead of focusing on a list of features, organisations can communicate the impact of their product and how it relates to users' needs and experiences.
Demonstrate the value to users before explaining it
When someone is anxious or experiencing panic, processing information can be more difficult. A complicated homepage or long descriptions can create friction at a time when people need support.
Hakeem shared Help Me Calm Down as an example: a tool that lets users go straight to the main experience without signing up first. He shared that it reached 10,000 users in about six weeks.
The principle is to demonstrate value before requiring users to learn everything about the product. A simple first step or guided exercise can be more useful than long explanations.
This does not mean eliminating registration or important information. Privacy, informed consent and clinical safeguards remain essential, but this information should be accessible without overwhelming users. If something is not needed for the next step, consider removing it from the immediate experience.
Collect questions rather than just feedback
Feedback forms and surveys can be useful, but they do not always show where people struggle when using a product. The questions users ask can reveal important insights.
Questions such as "What happens next?", "Is this private?", "Do I need an account?" or "Where can I get help?" may indicate missing information or confusing parts of the experience.
Collecting these questions, analysing them together and identifying recurring themes can help teams prioritise the biggest obstacles. For example, if several users ask about privacy, the product may not communicate its privacy practices clearly enough or at the right time.
Identify your dual audience
The first audience is the person using the product. They might need comfort, direction or assistance. Their experience is influenced by their emotional needs, trust, accessibility and the effort required to get started.
The second audience is the person evaluating the product, such as a therapist, clinician, investor or researcher. They may be assessing evidence, safety, risk, clinical relevance and methodology.
A usability study of BlueWatch, a self-guided app designed to help young adults manage depression, compared feedback from 15 participants: five people with depression, five mental health professionals and five researchers. Users generally found it easy to use, while professionals and researchers raised concerns about whether the amount of content would be difficult to navigate independently. On a standard usability scale, users rated the app 86 out of 100, clinicians 67 and researchers 60.5, and the users' own experience did not confirm the experts' concerns (Fuller-Tyszkiewicz et al., 2018).
This is an example of why expert opinions and user experiences do not always align. Gathering feedback from both groups can help teams identify issues they might otherwise miss and make better-informed decisions about what to improve.
What this means for the future of digital mental health
One of the key takeaways from Hakeem's session was that good UX doesn't necessarily mean adding more features or giving users more information. As his examples showed, sometimes it's about removing unnecessary steps, making things easier to understand and focusing on what people actually need.
One question to ask about your own product: does it make it easy for someone to find the right support at the moment they need it most?
Want to continue the conversation? Join us at the next nest session on 12 November, Evaluating AI Safety in Digital Mental Health.
🪺