HealingBridge Therapy

Growing a couples therapy practice by 326% for 1,800 couples in search of reconnecting and strengthening their relationship

Summary

For over 20 years, HealingBridge Therapy has been a pioneer in couples therapy. Starting in 2023, 
I took ownership of the research design initiative that enabled the company to increase their couples workshop attendance by 326%, and establish themselves as the only couples workshop in Kentucky that offers Gottman Therapy presented by Gottman Advanced Clinical Trainers.

Background

Who is HealingBridge Therapy

HealingBridge provides couples therapy solutions using the Gottman Method, in the pursuit of helping couples grow an appreciation of their relationship’s strengths and navigate through its vulnerabilities.


HealingBridge works under the Gottman Institute’s 50 years of scientific research to deduce what makes couples stay together. The Gottman Method has become world-renown with a 90% accuracy rate on divorce prediction.


HealingBridge has served over 3,000 clients in couples therapy and continues to work with the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Gottman Institute, and other couples, reaching1.8k couples with virtual and in-person couples workshops. HealingBridge offers a “Couples Workshop” 1-3 times a year for couples to reconnect and strengthen their relationship..

Problem

Low attendance in the couples workshop

HealingBridge is moving toward a couples workshop focus. People are having a hard time finding the Couples Workshops and purchasing them (that is, if they hear about them in the first place). HealingBridge has a goal of 25 couples per workshop. How can we achieve this goal?

Discover

User Interviews

I set up interviews with users signed up to attend the couples workshop, asking:

  1. How did you hear about the workshop?

  2. Do you have any questions about the workshop?

  3. What are your hopes and expectations for the workshop?

4/28 were referred by their therapist.

10/28 were referred by a friend.

14/28 saw the workshop advertized through the Gottman therapy network.

Using data from 143 backlog Interviews

Trends: Half of couples quit or attend a couples workshop after first appointment package (4 sessions). Once they get to 12 sessions, they fall off again (or might attend a workshop at that point). This also means the workshop doesn’t usually bring clients back to therapy, but that’s okay because the goal of the business is to move into a workshop focused mindset (instead of couples therapy sessions).

Design Choices

CTA is way at the bottom of the screen. We could move this up so people can find it more easily. 3/4 of people wanted to know about pricing and/or insurance (info included on the website). Assumption: the website is too overwhelming with information so users miss the things they want to know.

Stakeholder Interview

Stakeholder: Our measurement of success is to help people first and the business part will follow. There are business benefits beyond money (like hanging out with other therapist friends at workshops).

KPI’s to look for: good reviews, client satisfaction rising on post-workshop surveys, referral rates, and how quickly clients are able to learn Gottman tools and use them in their relationships.

Requirements and Constraints

  • Legal Requirements - therapists can’t expose anything about clients that happens in couples therapy. I was, however, able to use my observations from working as an assistant at a workshop a couple years prior.

  • Business Constraints: The Couples Workshop is designed to be a one-off for couples to learn Gottman tools and probably never attend again. What other opportunities can we provide to couples who have attended the workshop so they can stay connected to HealingBridge and keep getting the help they need for their relationship?

  • A total of 120 couples workshops are offered through Gottman’s website by different therapists. This triggered HealingBridge’s need to stand out and cultivate a unique audience. Since being added to Gottman’s network, HealingBridge has successfully held 2 workshops each year with 10 couples on average at each. However, the end goal for HealingBridge is to be able to internally market themselves, totaling to 25-75 couples participating in a couples workshop each year. This is projected to happen within the next 2-3 years.

Explore

Customer Journey Mapping

I learned that:

  • The workshops are dependent on referrals and the Gottman network.

  • Even though it was spelled out on the website, almost every couple that signed up emailed with questions about the workshop.

    • For example, the website stated that couples would not have to talk in front of other couples, but many were still worried about this. Others wondered if lunch would be catered (even though the website had that info).

      • How can we make the website more transparent and help users not miss important information?

While the goal of the couples workshop was clear in the minds of the people that needed and wanted it most, the process of what would actually take place at the workshop wasn’t as clear.

Here’s a visual for a customer finding and purchasing a HealingBridge Couples Workshop:

Competitive Analysis

Is there any opportunity to stand out from the competition?

  • Use quotes/reviews from people who were pleased with workshop

  • Lay out information more clearly using visuals

  • Make up to date design choices (many competitors have retro looking designs)

Defining Personas

Two personas emerged in my research:

  1. The client who has been referred to a HealingBridge Workshop by a friend (or sometimes a therapist)

  2. The client who is interested in the Gottman Method, has had 4 sessions at HealingBridge, and wants to learn more.

The SignUp CTA fell below the fold

Couples Workshop Page: Resulting Design

As a result of user research, I incorporated transparency of price, quotes from past participants, moved the CTA above the fold, and included a FAQ’s section for any additional questions.

Further Impact

Beyond re-designing the Couples Workshop page, I made adjustments to the structure of the entire Couples Workshop signup system:

  • I created automations within our system when appropriate - freeing up our team’s time.

  • The data showed how valuable referrals AND the Gottman Institute are to our users so I recommended investing in advertising on Gottman’s website as well as instituting a referral promo to benefit users and the business all at once.

  • I also met with the Stakeholder and reviewed past participants’ feelings on traveling to the location and booking hotels. I suggested teaming up with a hotel for a group discount while offering the option for attending the Workshop virtually.

Other Problems to Solve

  1. HealingBridge requires that each client’s first four appointments be scheduled at once. Below you can see how I adjusted the user flow by automating steps in scheduling, solving for all instances.

Automizing first time appointments

HealingBridge uses “The Gottman Method,” a practice that requires clients to schedule their first four appointments all at once. My job was to automate this action, working with our developers to do so. First, I created the different types of services clients can choose when signing up. Then I created the ability to schedule a package (including up to four services). With the way our current system works, I had to create different types of packages depending on the user wanting a telehealth or in-person appointment.

To solve this problem, I created options to mix and match telehealth and in-person appointments in a first appointment package. Now, when the user schedules a session, they can not only choose telehealth or in-person appointments, but they can schedule all four of their first appointments at once without having to manually go back and schedule each of their first four appointments with fear of missing one.

Results

After usability testing the new website, I incorporated a survey for all past workshop participants to complete to test their responses against the new participants’ responses.

At the most recent workshop, there was a 326% increase in attendance, 10% more engagement in the couples workshop website page, and an influx of new clients requesting information for the next workshop.

The new website design also opened the door for adding “Singles Workshops” as a product because the Couples Workshop was so successful. With good practices in place, explicit KPI’s, and more of an understanding about our client-base, we were able to increase HealingBridge’s earnings per workshop by $13,482 while helping that many more couples in their relationships.

Want to know more about the process?