DESIGN THINKING FOR CLINICAL THERAPY Design Thinking has rapidly risen in popularity over the past several years, in both business and social contexts. The strategic methodology and its tools have been applied to the development of effective concepts, products, services and systems, and may hold the key to successful innovation within the field of Psychotherapy. This research examines how characteristics of Design Thinking are currently being used in therapy, and explores other potential applications. The accompanying study also surveys mental health practitioners to understand the perceived effectiveness of Design-Thinking-like practices, and the willingness of these practitioners to adopt these approaches.
Using Design Thinking Tools
Below: What does the Design Thinking process look like in therapy? EMPATHIZE
DEFINE
PUTTING ONESELF DEEPLY INTO THE PATIENT'S SHOES TO UNDERSTAND THEIR PERCEPTIONS, CIRCUMSTANCES, NEEDS AND DESIRES
DIGGING TO DEFINE THE RIGHT "WICKED" PATIENT PROBLEM TO ADDRESS
METHODS: BEHAVIORAL ARCHAEOLOGY, CULTURAL PROBES, DRAW THE EXPERIENCE
IDEATE
METHODS: AFFINITY DIAGRAMMING, SYSTEMS MAPPING, CHARACTER PROFILE, PERSONAL INVENTORY, TRIANGULATION
INVOLVING PATIENT IN THE SOLUTION OR TREATMENT PLAN BRAINSTORMING PROCESS
PROTOTYPE
TEST
DEVELOPING WAYS FOR PATIENT TO "PRACTICE" SOLUTIONS IN A LOWRISK ENVIRONMENT
FREQUENTLY EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE IMPLEMENTED SOLUTIONS
METHODS: ROLE-PLAYING, SCENARIO TESTING, CREATIVE TOOLKIT
METHODS: SURVEYS, WEIGHTED MATRIX, VALUEOPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS
METHODS: SKETCHING, COGNITIE WALK-THROUGH, CREATIVE TOOLKITS, WHITEBOARDING
DESIGN THINKING PRACTICES VISUALIZATION: USING SKETCHES/VISUAL TOOLS TO ORGANIZE INFORMATION, GAIN INSIGHTS, REPRESENT THOUGHTS EXPERIMENTATION: TRYING NEW, CREATIVE METHODS, USING DESIGN THINKING TOOLKIT & ACTIVITIES PATIENT AS COLLABORATOR: CO-CREATION WITH PATIENT ON TREATMENT, KEEPING THEM "IN THE LOOP" ACTION-BASED, INTERACTIVE: ENCOURAGING THE PATIENT TO GET MOVING, DO ACTIVITIES DURING THE SESSION ITERATION: CONTINUOUS TESTING, EVALUATION AND FLEXIBILITY TO CHANGE DIRECTION OR RETURN TO PREVIOUS STEPS © MONICA A. BELOT 2020