How to design mental health tools for Gen Z

Gaps in the Market

• Impersonal and low diversity of tools: Many young adults regard online mental health tools and services as impersonal and insufficiently diverse — both in the racial and ethnic makeup of available practitioners and the scope of issues they’re designed to address.⁷
• Many tools require limited interaction: Many tools on the market are text-based and require limited interaction, which is at odds with Gen Z’s preference for more engaging platforms like apps and videos.⁹
• Services lack social components: Leading tools, while employing self-directed learning options (a Gen Z favorite),⁹ often don’t include social aspects like a homepage newsfeed, a sharing feature, or a like button, preventing them from fully reaching their target group.
• Mental health issues are often siloed: Many mental health resources tend to silo medical issues and general concerns into different buckets, such as depression or anxiety and sleep or social problems, rather than looking at them as a spectrum or in conjunction with one another.¹⁰ Siloing mental health issues most affects young people, since undiagnosed or ignored conditions have many more years to fester.¹¹

Integrating multiple facets of life into care also plays into the diversity component that Gen Z appreciates.¹² Through our work, we’ve observed that mental health tools are most successful when they allow for an overlap of concerns, rather than compartmentalization.

Insight #1: The Stepped Care Model

Unlike older generations, Gen Z is more aware of their mental health struggles and more likely to seek help.¹³ Unfortunately, many tend to turn to emergency services or social media because they perceive a lack of attainable and sustainable resources available to them.⁷ 

Mental health tools can tackle this with a Stepped Care approach. This model can reduce barriers to accessing care while providing users with more tailored recommendations based on their needs and preferences. The patient escalates or deescalates in treatment options depending on their needs.¹⁴ A Stepped Care approach empowers people to make use of tools and skills outside of crisis services. By making resources of less intensity more accessible, it empowers them to learn about coping mechanisms so that if they do find themselves in crisis later on, they are better equipped to take care of themselves. 

In keeping these coping mechanisms handy, individuals will also be able to notice if their mental health symptoms are getting worse and seek care earlier in the process, instead of letting it spiral out of control. This is especially important given emergency rooms have been flooded with young people needing care, and some hospitals in the US have even gone as far as to declare a state of emergency.¹⁵

How to tailor it to Gen Z

We know that a) Stepped Care is an effective treatment model and b) Gen Z is incredibly well-educated and well-informed on their needs. A mental health tool can use these insights to create a Gen Z-centered program that offers varying levels of care.

What do these insights look like in application? For example, when creating an account on a mental health app, users could be directed to take an assessment that identifies their current mental health needs. Given Gen Z’s openness and self-awareness toward mental health compared to older generations,¹⁶ they would be more likely to answer honestly, leading to an efficient pathway to appropriate treatment.

A digitized stepped care approach could take one of two forms. First, it might look like taking advantage exclusively of virtual care without the involvement of any doctors (think Wellness Together, Kids Help Phone, or suicide hotlines). A second route would look like the integration of both virtual services and in-person care. Thus, after completing the assessment, users would be placed into Step 1, which may be limited to virtual resources like general information about their target issues (i.e. resources on how to handle anxiety) or, in addition, a portal to create an appointment with a doctor.

By capitalizing on Gen Z’s ease with electronics and finding information online, a Stepped Care setup would help ensure they receive the level of treatment that they need and reduce their reliance on emergency or one-off resources.

Insight #2: Self-directed learning using videos

Differing from previous generations, Gen Z thrives on self-directed, technology-based learning.¹⁷ In a survey from 2018, 59% of Gen Z respondents said their favorite learning method was YouTube.¹⁸ This is partially due to their having grown up in a continuously distracting multimedia world and because independent learning provides them with the freedom to learn wherever and whenever it’s convenient.^{19, 20}

Creating this type of in-app experience allows Gen Z users to obtain information at their own pace — which is usually quickly, given how their familiarity to high speed Internet and modern technology.²¹ It’s also in line with the Gen Z preference for learning via interactive apps and videos over traditional media.⁹

How to tailor it to Gen Z

A self-directed learning approach for a mental well-being app could let learners choose a course based on their goals and take a lesson every day for the duration of the program. In using video and/or audio content, the tool will create a dynamic environment that will effectively engage Gen Z and capitalize on their preferred learning styles.⁹ In employing this approach, users become independent and can tweak their learning sessions according to their attention span or mood.

Bonus Insight

In addition to capitalizing on Gen Z’s preferences for self-directed learning, providing courses for a spectrum of mental health needs shows users that the organization shares Gen Z’s value of diversity. More than other generations, this group cares about diversity in all aspects — from race and gender to health concerns.¹ By creating content for an array of issues, organizations can help foster a feeling of belonging, which will boost retention among the target audience. Since this generation has reported a higher level of loneliness, which is a key predictor of serious concerns like depression and suicidal ideation, fostering connections could significantly benefit Gen Z.¹⁵

In the not-too-distant future, Generation Z - who already make up more than a third of the global population - will make up one third of the workforce.² There are significant opportunities for mental health apps to support this group of young people, not only in their transition to work life, but also to adulthood and beyond. By understanding their needs and the deficiencies in current services, mental health organizations can ensure that they are able to access the most effective resources.

The Decision Lab is a behavioral consultancy that uses science to foster wellness through science and design. We work with some of the most innovative health & wellbeing organizations in the world to create social change and ensure all generations have access to care. If you'd like to tackle this together, contact us.