Today

Overview

Summary

My thesis explored how translating eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy into a digital experience can support and maintain therapeutic outcomes. The result is a prototype called “Today,” a mental health therapy maintenance app designed in a trauma-informed way. EMDR is a psychotherapy tool used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health conditions. It requires bilateral stimulation (BLS), which utilizes eye movement, auditory tones, tactile taps, or vibrations to help clients sustain dual attention on a disturbing memory and external stimuli. Over time, clients will practice skills to better self-regulate their emotions related to negative memories while shifting their trust from initial negative beliefs to positive ones. Literature and artifact reviews revealed a plethora of existing online EMDR experiences. However, a significant opportunity remains to make digital EMDR a safe, clinically accurate, and intentional experience. Over the fall and spring semesters, low-fidelity mock-ups, prototypes, and storyboards were developed to gain feedback from one professor of psychiatry, two EMDR therapists, and one EMDR practitioner to ensure an honorable translation of EMDR. Spatial and procedural best practices in trauma-informed care inspired principles for the digital environment, guiding the Today app’s design. My thesis concludes with five trauma-informed design principles to inform my design decisions and a preliminary prototype experience of an EMDR therapy maintenance app as an example case study.

Year

2024 - 2025

Methods

Literature review, artifact review, lifestyle apps benchmarking, storyboarding, low-fidelity mockups, expert interviews, UI / UX design, prototyping, evaluation, animation

Links

Case Study coming soon!

Video

Watch my my final presentation video below.