New Getting Started Experience

From 28th September, updated versions of the Depression, Anxiety and Comorbid programmes will be released for new users of the SilverCloud platform.

This update is designed to provide the user with the best possible  first experience  of using the platform. The improvements include: 

1. Changes to the  onboarding process: 
   • Simpler contract page that comes before signup. 
   • New goal setting questions. 
   • Questionnaires have been given more framing. 
2. Changes to the  first module: 
   • Current Getting Started module has been split, with all condition specific content moved to a new second module. 
   • The TFB Cycle is now called the CBT Cycle. 
   • Media content now forefronts each page. 

Why have we made these changes?

The importance of a person’s first interaction with SilverCloud has been consistently highlighted in our analysis of user data.

The data reflects higher outcomes for users who engage with programmes and are able to reach an understanding of the core concepts of CBT early on in the process. The data also shows that the highest percentage of users who drop out of SilverCloud, do so after their first login.

The redesign therefore includes the first module that a user encounters, as well as their onboarding journey. The aim is that a user’s first interaction with SilverCloud is a pleasing and frictionless experience, thus building their trust in a platform that they are encouraged to return to.

Watch a video demo of the changes:

FURTHER DETAILS

New Onboarding Process

Step 1: The Contract Page

The first step of the onboarding journey is the contract page, which outlines the terms on which the user will engage with the platform. Previously this page displayed a long, bullet pointed list which was easy to skip over, meaning that users often missed the important information.

We have scaled the page back to the three most important points that the user needs to be aware of; confidentiality, privacy and the fact that SilverCloud is not an emergency service. Further information on these issues, as well as the terms of the full contract, is still available to those who wish to read it.

 

Step 2: Goal Setting

A new step has been added to the onboarding process, where the user is invited to set a goal for the experience. The reason for this is to help the user feel that they are able to personalise the SilverCloud experience to suit their needs.

For supported users, it also provides the supporter with extra information about the user, allowing them to tailor their first review to address the specific goals that have been set.

 

Step 3: Questionnaires

We have added some framing content both before and after the questionnaires, to help the user understand why they are being asked.

Step 4: Mental Model

Once the user has assessed where they are at right now, the focus shifts and they are able to look towards getting to where they want to be.

The final step of the onboarding process provides them with a mental model for the SilverCloud platform and how it works. This is communicated through 3 slides, outlining the pillars on which SilverCloud is built: the programme, the tools, and (for supported users) the supporter .

The user is then directed to a streamlined ‘first experience’ version of their homepage. Unsupported users just dive straight into the first module. Supported users have a second option to read a welcome message from their supporter (if they have already been assigned one).

New First Module

Less text, more media

One of the main changes we have made to the ‘Getting Started’ module is to reduce the amount of text and increase the number of media and interactive elements. An animation, piece of audio or tool is now the main focus of each page.

Text-based information is still available to the user but it has been moved to a secondary position on each page, in some cases hidden behind a ‘Full Read’ link. In this way we have been able to provide easy access to the key points, while still retaining the depth and breadth of our content for those who wish to read more.

The reason we have done this is to reduce the overwhelming feeling of facing a page of text, which can be off putting for those who are feeling particularly low or unmotivated. Making the content delivery more varied also helps us to cater to a broader range of learning styles.

Foregrounding CBT

We have also restructured the ‘Getting Started’ module so that the core concepts of CBT are foregrounded. This condition-agnostic first module sits across the Depression, Anxiety and Depression & Anxiety programmes. All condition-specific content has been moved to a new second module, entitled ‘Understanding Depression/Anxiety/Depression & Anxiety’.

This means that from the start, the user is learning the skills they need to get the most out of their programme.

Overview of the Redesigned First Module

1. Expert introduction: One of our SilverCloud clinicians now introduces the programme, giving the feeling of a more traditional face to face therapy session.

2. Mental model of CBT: This page communicates the core concept of CBT : 1. Understanding how you are feeling and 2. Making changes.

3. Personal experience of CBT: This animation of a personal, emotive experience of using CBT is intended to make the mechanisms of the intervention more accessible and real for users. It also forecasts what they might expect from SilverCloud.

4. Mood Monitor: This tool is now introduced earlier in the module, providing the user with a simple interaction which gives them a sense of achievement right away.

5. CBT Cycle animation: The ‘TFB cycle’ has been renamed as the ‘CBT cycle’. The main impetus behind this change is to reduce the number of acronyms that a user has to learn. The animation on this page explains how this cycle represents the core concept of CBT.

6. CBT Cycle tool: The functionality of this tool is broadly the same as the current ‘TFB Cycle’. The image of the cycle has been reordered so that emotions now appear at the centre, as this is what the user is hoping to change.
Each section of the tool is revealed to the user and then completed in sequence, e.g. emotions first, then triggers etc., with supporting content about each element along the way.

7. Personal stories: Users now have the option to read a personal story or listen to an audio version of it, catering for different learning preferences and contexts.

8. Staying in the Present: This tool remains the same, the framing content has just been moved to below the media player so that the listening exercise is now more prominent.

9. Summing Up: Another video featuring our SilverCloud clinician bookends the module and provides a recap of the main points that were covered.

10. Daily practice: The ‘Goal for the Week’ tool has been re-named and pulled out onto its own page, which now ends the module. This structure has been replicated at the end of each module of the programme.
In making this tool the final focus, our intention is that the user will end the module on an active note. They have committed to putting what they are learning into practice, as this is the key to making CBT work for them.