Boston College School of Social Work

GAP: A learning app dedicated to improving equity in mental health

The Affirm Lab at Boston College School of Social Work worked with Dave to lead the design for GAP (Gender-Affirming-Psychotherapy) Training, a self-paced, community co-created, and evidence-based training to help therapists support transgender and nonbinary clients (including youth). The training offers 8+ Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for psychologists, social workers, and counselors.

Employing user-centered design practices, this training experience was created to help mental health providers improve their ability to support transgender and nonbinary clients. However, the larger goal of this important and timely training is to address the inequities in treatment that transgender youth so often face when seeking mental health services.

Along the way, we received input from the transgender community, their parents and caregivers, as well mental health providers on how to best address these inequities in treatment. For us, it was a privilege to collaborate with such a dedicated group of professionals who simply want to make life better for a whole lot of people.

SERVICES

  • User experience design (UX)

  • User interface (UI)

  • User research

“This 18-month-long engagement was truly life-altering for me. I came to this with very little knowledge about the subject or the human beings affected. I came out of it truly moved by the teens and young adults and their parents who continually face barriers and outright discrimination on a daily basis. I am also in awe of the mental health professionals who dedicate their lives to helping them. The fact that this solution can help them in their work is extremely rewarding for me.”