Therapist Recommendations
Lyra Health
PLATFORM
Responsive Web
MY ROLE
Product Design Intern
TEAM
1 PM, 1 UX Researcher, 2 Product Designers
Lyra Health connects individuals to personalized mental health care by matching them with licensed therapists and other care providers.
However, members were struggling to follow through with booking their first therapy appointment, often feeling overwhelmed by the process of selecting the right therapist.
On the Search for Care team, I worked on reimagining the therapist recommendation page to simplify the selection process and increase booking rates. After implementation, early data validated our approach, showing an increase in successful bookings.
Problem Framing
What led us here?
CONTEXT
Choosing a therapist can feel overwhelming and uncertain.
For people seeking mental health care, the first step–choosing a therapist–can be the hardest. When faced with a list of options, varying qualifications, and personal preferences at play, making a confident decision can feel daunting.
Through user research and behavioral data, we identified key patterns in why members were abandoning the booking process before securing an appointment.
Previous version of the therapist recommendation page
THE PROBLEM
Three major roadblocks made booking a therapist harder than it needed to be.
Based on our research, we found that members faced three primary challenges when selecting a therapist:
DECISION FATIGUE & USER FLOW
Members had to click through multiple therapist profiles just to compare information. This process creates friction and led to booking abandonment.
INSUFFICIENT THERAPIST INFORMATION
Small profile images and brief bios left members unsure about a therapist’s qualifications and personality. Without enough context, users felt uneasy committing to a booking.
INFORMATION & ORGANIZATION
The existing layout didn’t prioritize key decision-making factors like availability, specializations, or user preferences. Members were making decisions based on details that weren't always relevant to them.
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THE CHALLENGE
Make it easier and faster for members to confidently choose a therapist by reducing decision fatigue, surfacing key details, and streamlining booking.
Process & Reasoning
How did we explore, narrow down, and make certain decisions?
Where were members getting stuck?
We started by analyzing booking funnel data and user research findings to pinpoint the biggest drop-off points in the process.
Members were clicking into multiple therapist profiles but often didn't book – suggesting that the right information wasn't easily accessible upfront. This led us to focus on surfacing the most relevant details earlier in the process, reducing unnecessary navigation and helping members make a confident choice faster.
To guide our design decisions, we focused on:
Simplifying the user flow so members could book appointments quickly, without unnecessary steps
Prioritizing key therapist details to reduce decision fatigue and help users make informed choices
Presenting recommendations in a way that instills trust and confidence in therapist expertise
Exploring ideas through rapid sketches and brainstorming
We kicked off with a ton of quick hand sketches and bouncing of ideas of initial directions. We wanted to visualize different ways we could display therapist recommendations, and we were asking questions like:
Should booking be possible directly from the results page? What would that look like?
How much information is too much? At what point does it become overwhelming?
Could a featured "Top Match" help reduce decision fatigue?
These conversations and sketches helped us explore layouts, prioritize key information, and experiment with structure before committing to fleshed out wireframes.
Thinking, designing, and refining details
We went through a lot of different iterations to see what we could do in terms of showing therapist details. During this stage, I was regularly participating in weekly design reviews with the larger Lyra design team and gathering early feedback from stakeholders to ensure we were moving in the right direction.
We narrowed down our designs to validate our ideas with real users.
We worked with our amazing UX researcher to conduct user testing with 9 members to understand their preferences and pain points. We were looking at things like:
How they were navigating the therapist options
Which information mattered most in their decision making
Whether they felt confident booking directly from the recommendation page
So, what did we learn from testing?
These insights helped refine our final solution, ensuring that the most relevant information was surfaced at the right moment in the decision making process.
BIOS MATTER MORE THAN EXPECTED
Contrary to our initial assumptions, bios had a stronger impact than photos in helping members feel confident about a therapist.
SPECIALIZATIONS DON'T HAVE TO BE EXTENSIVE
Users only needed confirmation that a therapist had relevant expertise, not a full breakdown of qualifications.
AVAILABILITY IS CRUCIAL
Members strongly preferred seeing available time slots upfront to make decisions, rather than clicking through each profile.
Design Solution
How did we shape the therapist recommendation experience?
Turning our insights into action
Armed with the insights we took away from user testing, we were able to develop a final design that was better tailored to member needs. The final iteration prioritized clarity, trust, and efficiency, making it easier for members to compare therapists and book appointments confidently.
We implemented several key improvements to streamline the booking experience and help members make more confident decisions.
SIMPLIFIED BOOKING FLOW
Members can now select a time slot and book directly from the results page, reducing unnecessary steps.
LARGER PROFILE IMAGES & IMPROVED BIOS
Emphasizing therapist descriptions gave members a better sense of personality and expertise
PRIORITIZING KEY DECISION-MAKING FACTORS
We surfaced information like availability, relevant experience, and member preferences upfront to reduce decision fatigue.
Early data showed higher engagement and booking success!
After launching the redesigned therapist recommendation page, early data showed a 15-30% increase in successful bookings, confirming that members found the new experience easier and faster.
Retrospective
My time at Lyra was full of so much learning and growth as a designer.
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
During this project, I learned how important effective communication is for aligning expectations and ensuring project success.
Regular check-ins and open dialogue with my team not only clarify objectives, but also fostered collaboration that led to new ideas. Being pro-active and prioritizing transparent communication builds trust and streamlines the process!
ALWAYS QUESTION ASSUMPTIONS
Initially, we thought photos mattered more than bios, but user testing proved otherwise. Testing and constant iteration allowed us to make decisions based on real user needs. It's so important to always challenge our assumptions and design with data!
THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX
I worked with so many talented people and creatives from different backgrounds that inspired me to constantly explore new ideas and challenge my design thinking.
I grew tremendously as a designer, reinforcing that design is truly a continuous learning journey, and the best ideas come when we collaborate and learn from one another.