finding a therapist shouldn’t feel clinical
When Juniper Counseling, an Asian American-owned counseling practice, approached me for assistance in launching their practice from the ground up, my response was an enthusiastic 'Absolutely!' A brief research revealed a significant surge in demand for therapy services, particularly during the challenging times of the pandemic. I am deeply appreciative of Juniper Counseling's commitment to offering valuable resources to help clients navigate difficulties and find healing.
problem
With the influx of individuals looking for therapy, having a strong digital presence and clear visual identity matters.
The market for a counseling service is growing as 53 million Americans each year reported unmet mental health care needs due to stigma, costs, time, and geographic challenges. With Americans not having access to mental healthcare, there was an opportunity for Juniper Counseling to engage potential clients and provide a much needed service to underserved communities.
research
UNDERSTANDING THE AUDIENCE
I began by conducting secondary research: looking at other practice practices, mental health resources, therapist directories, reading articles relevant to the industry, and comparing features between credibility sites. Many practices offer similar services but few explained what practices could offer clients. I then conducted interviews to learn more about the different experiences people have as they searched for a therapist. I developed provisional personas to represent typical users based on my findings.
MARKET RESEARCH
Through market research, I was able to gain a more thorough understanding and fill in the gaps of my knowledge about the industry to better inform my design decisions moving forward. Here are some of the key insights that I discovered:
Market Trends
Telehealth usage rates skyrocketing.
Nearly 50% of Americans do not have access to mental healthcare & 50% of psychologists are over 50 years old.
65% of employees do not find current mental health benefits and programs helpful.
53 million Americans report unmet mental health care needs each year due to stigma, costs, time, geographic challenges
Therapy is moving away from the medical model of focusing on symptom reduction and toward the humanistic, client-centered approach.
Demographics
In 2019, 19.2% of adults had received any mental health treatment in the past 12 months
In 2019, nearly one in four women received any mental health treatment (24.7%) in the past 12 months, compared with 13.4% of men.
In 2019, non-Hispanic white adults (23.0%) were more likely than non-Hispanic black (13.6%) and Hispanic (12.9%) adults to have received any mental health treatment.
The significant racial and ethnic disparity in treatment utilization was associated with a lack of health insurance coverage.
Diversity Therapy Discovery
Ethnic/racial minorities often bear a disproportionately high burden of disability resulting from mental disorders.
In 2015, among adults with any mental illness, 48% of whites received mental health services, compared with 31% of blacks and Hispanics, and 22% of Asians.
Asians are less likely to use mental health services than any other race/ ethnic group.
70% of Southeast Asian refugees receiving mental health treatment were diagnosed with PTSD associated with immigration.
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
I wanted to take a closer look at Juniper Counseling’s competitors. I identified some top direct and indirect competitors to compare and evaluate their features. There are many features that overlap as well as features that are unique to the type of service these competitors are offering.
Interviews and PERSONA
In order to learn about the real experiences people have had while thinking about doing therapy, I developed a survey to ask questions about their experiences. Below I created three persona which presented some of the findings.
Approach
needing a new way of viewing counseling
Since starting counseling could be a very overwhelming experience, we wanted to communicate in the clearest way the value and the unique approach of the practice. It was my role to create a brand for Juniper Counseling that embodied their approach of growth and healing while providing enough information that brought clarity as someone searches for counseling services.
GOAL: communicate the practice’s values while providing valuable information
VISUAL identity
LOGO
Juniper Counseling’s logotype was built from the typeface Room 205 created by Simon Walker. Keeping the type lowercase creates a sense of approachability compared to a large corporation. I used a set of three simple silhouettes of juniper trees as the logomark. While exploring the options, we landed on this mark due to the simplicity but it also communicated a sense of community.
COLOR PALETTE
Focusing on colors you can find in the forest, these colors symbolize growth and comfort. The main colors of the brand palette are Pine Green and Comfort Cream with four accent colors of Pink Cloud, Growth Green, Rosemary Green, and Moss Green. While the majority of the colors are green, there are two neutral colors to balance the palette.
ICONS
With curved edges and simple lines, this simple set of icons was developed to communicate both simplicities and movement.
WEB
We focused on the web experience to tell the story of the brand identity. Letting the typeface and imagery shine on each page. Allowing clients to read what is the most important and not making them feel overwhelmed by content.
SOCIAL GRAPHICS
We wanted to keep the brand professional while being conversational. This was achieved through creating social media content that addressed questions stated during the research interviews.
COMMUNICATION
1) humanize the Experience
We wanted potential clients to feel comfortable scrolling through our content. We intentionally removed all therapist jargon and medical language around counseling.
2) FOCUSED ON HEALING
We make it clear that there are clear goals when you start counseling. From our primary research, we found that people felt like there wasn’t a point in counseling and you would need to be in counseling forever.
3) CLEAR CALL TO ACTIONS
Our client wanted to increase the number of consultations they were having with potential clients. So we developed clear funnels with that in mind.
humanize the Experience
Chatting with gloria
We wanted the web experience to be personal and interactive. A simple chat feature provided opportunities for users to interact with the owner without picking up the phone or sending an email.
FOCUSED ON HEALING
developing resilience
As we developed the branding, we wanted to use the juniper trees as a symbol of resilience. In nature, junipers trees are able to thrive in challenging situations. We communicated how the practice’s goals centered around developing resiliency and growing your roots.
CLEAR CALL TO ACTIONS
funneling leads
As I developed the website, we made it clear a 15-minute consultation was the best way to get to know the owner and learn more about the process. We made sure all of our leads were offered this opportunity.
Results
when others in our community thrive, we all thrive.
fully booked
within the first 6 months
The client was able to fill all their opening and had a full caseload within 6 months of operating.
200% Increase in
consultation
With a clear call to action, the amount of consultation increased dramatically. The quality of leads also improved, leading to higher success in retentions as clients..
Resourcing
communities
Juniper Counseling is using its social media platform to resource the community with tools and mental health practices.