Looking out for your users mental health during research

People are at the centre of user experience. Whilst we aren’t mental health professionals, we can all spot the signs our users are struggling with their mental health and safeguard them.

Trigger warning: brief mentions of bereavement, trauma and depression.

UX professionals are advocates for human centred design and we put people first in everything we do. So it’s important we practice what we preach, especially when we do research with users that could be challenging or triggering.

Reflecting on my experience

I want to take you back to March 2020 when I was running some remote user research, it was to talk about energy and one participant didn’t show up. ‘No biggie’, I thought, ‘participants ghost us all the time.’ After 10 minutes, I rang them to check in and they said they were having technical issues. We tried to work our way through the problem over the phone, but we ran out of time before the next interview. I suggested we rearrange for the next day, they said ‘OK I’m around all the time now as I’m not working.’ We rescheduled.

My gut told me to check their information and I noticed they worked in hospitality, an industry crushed by the COVID-19 outbreak. I realised they may have had their hours cut or been laid off.

More than anything, I couldn’t forget how disengaged and detached the participant sounded on the phone.

It was the next day and they didn’t show, so I rang them. Voicemail. Tried again, voicemail again. I left a message but I couldn’t get ahold of them. Something felt off. I had used an external recruiter for this project, so I raised my concerns that they might be struggling with their mental health. I asked the recruiter to let me know if they hear back from the participant and any other news.

Of course, I may have read too much into this exchange and unnecessarily raised concern for their mental health. And you know what, that’s fine — because if you ask someone if they’re OK when there’s nothing wrong, you can dust it off. No harm done. But, if you don’t ask when you suspect a problem and something is wrong, then you may have missed your chance to intervene before it’s too late.

Although I did my best in that scenario, I had felt helpless and unprepared for the worst. To avoid making the same mistake, I did some reading, interviewed researchers who’ve facilitated challenging discussions, and referred back to my mental health first aid course. Here’s what works for me, hopefully you find it useful too.

Signs to look out for

If my training to become a mental health first aider taught me anything, it’s that everyone shows different signs and behaviours when it comes to struggling with their mental health.

Here are some of the things you can look out for:

Changes in behaviour (e.g. more or less talkative and open)
Sudden emotional outbursts and dramatic changes in mood (e.g. being irritable, tearful, or angry)
Mentions of sleeping problems
Weight or appetite changes
Poor concentration, forgetfulness and being easily distracted
Compulsive actions (e.g. constantly checking something)
Pay attention to the context (e.g. job changes, problems at home)

Protecting users during research

The most important thing to remember here is you never want to leave your users in a worse state than when they came to you. We are there to look after them. We don’t want to cause over-exhaustion through mental or emotional fatigue.

Even in “standard” industries like financial services, users have spoken to me about debilitating debt, traumatic car accidents and grieving their child. Here is some advice for safeguarding your participants mental health when discussing such challenging topics:

If you know the discussion will be challenging before the session, call the participant (or if they have an auditory impairment, email them) to explain what topics they’ll be asked about and double check if they still want to proceed.
Never force users to talk about anything that might be too difficult. Make it clear in your introduction to the session that they have the right to withdraw at any time, or decline to speak about a topic.
After, give participants a debrief sheet. Reflect back to them what you were doing and what happens next.
On the debrief sheet, include charities or resources they may need to chat to. Make sure they’re relevant to what you’ve discussed (e.g. Samaritans, Citizens Advice, Macmillan).
Have a support worker available for them to speak with privately.
Be flexible; adapt your plans based on your users state of mind and be willing to try alternative methods (e.g. go from in person to remote).

Supporting teammates observing research

It’s not only your users mental health that can be challenged when discussing triggering topics. Some of the stories you hear can be harrowing, and you may spend a whole day listening to difficult stories, one after another, so make sure you’re safeguarding yourself and your team too.

Speak to the people that could be running or are involved with the sessions before they’re assigned it to see if they’re comfortable with the project.
Allow at least 30 mins between each session for people to decompress and offer a debrief. Let them choose how they spend that time, some people will need air and to walk around, whereas others will need to talk.
Block out the next day for downtime and decompression. Individually follow up and check in on all observers and note-takers.
Point them to any internal mental health and wellbeing resources your organisation has, as well as any charities and external resources that might help.
Talk to you line manager about your experience and what support you need, raise any concerns you have and improvements for the future.

You can’t pour from an empty cup

Finally, put your mental health first, always. You can’t help others if you’re not in the right state of mind. Apply all of this advice to yourself; treat your mental health and wellbeing the same way you would a users or teammates.

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So, tell me, have you spoken to users about difficult topics? What tips and advice would you add?