8 Tips to Make a Successful Online Mental Health Counseling Software

A person’s mental health is as important as their physical health. Losing your mental peace over something that bothers you and not seeking help when you need it, can make your condition a lot worse. According to a case study, the global prevalence estimate was 28.0% for depression; 26.9% for anxiety; 24.1% for post-traumatic stress symptoms; 36.5% for stress; 50.0% for psychological distress; and 27.6% for sleep problems (as of 2019). This makes mental health counseling a necessity. Anybody who is at the lowest point in their life should be able to see a window of hope. This window can be provided to them by increasing the presence of online mental health counseling software.

Mental health experts should start practicing online and provide consultation to those who are in dire need of it. Patients hesitate to visit therapists, however, they are relatively more comfortable while using an online platform to seek help.

Before we tell you about the ways or tips to develop mental health counseling software, let’s talk about what is the role of mental health experts. 

What do mental health experts do?

Mental health experts are qualified practitioners in psychotherapy or psychology. They are trained to deal with patients who suffer from any mental health issues. They treat their patients by conducting sessions and activities that help them in dealing with their problems. A lot of people see therapists to deal with any kind of mental trauma or depression. It isn’t wrong to see a therapist if you have lost your mental peace. Even the people who seem to be at the best in their lives end up needing the help of therapists.

We practically go through tons of problems in our day-to-day life. While most of these are hard to get by us, some end up boring a hole in our heads. Even though it seems that it is just a phase and it will pass, sometimes it doesn’t. When you feel that all your options of self-help are exhausted, it is necessary to seek a professional’s help. These experts are good at what they do and deal with multiple patients daily. Their practice helps them treat you in a better manner.

As we talk about the importance of mental health experts, here are some tips on building an online mental health counseling software.

Tips on building mental health counseling software

Your mental health app must be well constructed as mental health patients need a source that motivates them to seek help and not run away from it. Here are some tips to make your software the most effective and helpful for the patients.

1. An easy-to-use interface 

A software’s interface should be as easy to use as it can be. Anybody suffering from mental health issues will not try to focus too hard on anything they are doing. They’ll be going through a rush of emotions and considering that your software should make navigating through easier for them. 

If the patient has to explore a lot to reach out to the therapist, then they might lose hope. And if they lose hope, they may even give up on seeking help. Your software’s agenda should be to resonate with the needs of a mental health patient.

2. In-app communication should be available

Mental health app development’s key feature should be accommodating telepresence. A mental health patient should be able to communicate with an expert. To allow their communication, the app should consist of messaging, audio calls, and video conferencing. Enabling these features will make it easier for the patients to connect with experts. They don’t have to go through the anxiety of meeting the expert, in reality. They can seek help online from a mental health therapist using a mental health counseling app. 

3. Immediate help should be provided

There is no right time for seeking consultation. A patient might be in a crisis and therefore might require a therapist’s help at an odd hour. A mental health counseling software should include a feature that allows a patient to get instant counseling. This feature will prevent the patient from reaching an extreme point. It can also prove to be life-saving for them. This feature will allow the patients to connect with the therapist instantly, without booking an appointment. Thus, this real-time experience will help the patients in seeking immediate help from the therapists.

4. A range of therapies should be available

Everybody is unique and therefore everybody has unique coping mechanisms. It would be naive to assume that the same kind of therapy can be effective for everyone. Keeping that in mind, mental health counseling software should have a range of therapies available. Therefore, patients should be able to choose the type of therapy they are interested in. This personalized experience can be very effective for the patients. An expert can list down the type of therapies they can provide to their patients on the mental health app.

5. Group sessions and webinars

Sharing your experience in a group can prove to be a breakthrough, especially for someone who is suffering from mental health issues. A mental health counseling software should have a feature that allows the expert to conduct group sessions. This feature will help the patients in overcoming the fear of being judged by others. Group sessions will allow the patients to see that a lot of people go through the same issues as them. Therefore, your mental health counseling app should have a feature that allows group video conferencing.

6. Reminders for upcoming sessions

Mental health patients must be regular in their therapy sessions. This can be ensured by enabling a feature in the software that sends regular reminders to the patients. The more the patients indulge in therapy, the more are the chances of their recovery. Irregular sessions can increase the recovery process for the patients. The majority of experts suggest that anybody suffering from mental health issues should see their therapists regularly. This is because sharing your problems with an expert can turn out to be very beneficial. It can help in decreasing the patient’s anxiety.

7. E-prescriptions for medication

Sometimes therapy cannot be completely helpful. In such extreme cases, therapists may need to prescribe medication to the patients. These medications tranquilize the anxiety of the patients and allow them to sleep with ease. An online platform like mental health counseling software should be able to generate and send an e-prescription after a session with a patient is concluded. These e-prescriptions can be used by the patients to purchase medicines from a chemist or a pharmacy. 

8. Patient data security

A patient’s data should remain confidential at all times. Therapists need to keep all the information about the patient confidential. Therefore, a security or encryption tool should be integrated with the mental health consultation software. This tool should encrypt all the patients’ data at all stages. If anybody manages to get their hands on this confidential information, it can turn out to be a huge problem. Therapists can store all the information regarding the patient in one place and then an encryption feature can be applied to it. 

The above tips are just the tip of the iceberg. The more you indulge in developing a mental health software, the more ideas, and improvisations can be made in it. As humans and their psyche is evolving with time, their choices and coping mechanisms are also going through a constant change. 

Here’s How Panther Can Help

In case you are looking for a platform that can help you develop an online mental health counseling software, then we have the right choice for you. Panther is a product that allows you to create multiple consultation verticals. It is highly customizable and allows you to create a platform for providing consultation. We have a team of technology experts who help you in putting together a platform of your choice. Feel free to contact us, we’ll provide you with a walkthrough of the platform. 

Also, here is a live example of one of our clients, FeelJoy, which is a renowned online consultation platform for mental health well-being. FeelJoy recently partnered with us to build a mental health consultation website and app and to resolve a couple of operational difficulties.