A Product System to Aid Psychotherapy of Depressed College Students

Project Overview

Mental illness in India is high in the age group 30–40 and minor depression if not properly addressed could easily deteriorate into major depression.

This project aims to blend the design thinking process with insights from behavioral psychology , to design a product system that remedies some of the core symptoms associated with mild depressive disorders in India‘s university students.

D-Objective & D-Brief

To design a product system that is supportive to psychotherapy and aims to remedy symptoms of mild depressive disorders in college students.The following check-points are to be incorporated into the product system to be designed:

1. Incorporate features derived from behavioral therapy.
2. Encourage communication & social interactions by the user to support groups
3. Monitor & encourage a healthy diet and sleep cycle.
4. Incorporate multi-sensory stimuli to relieve stress ,aid sleep & relax.
5. Designed to be portable , rechargeable & allow for synchronization to computers & smart phones.

Final Design Proposal

Features a multi-sensory head-set whose functionality is dependant on a “reinforcement learning app” ,that links the user to his/her therapist & support network for daily monitoring of the user’s progress, towards leading to a more proactive & balanced life-style.

The final design incorporates the following features :

1. Glowing mood-lights & soothing visuals projected through OLED displays
2. Ambient sounds & binaural waves to aid relaxation and sleep via a detachable , wireless bi-directional speaker system.
3. Essential lemon oil aroma diffusion on nose contours to uplift mood
4. Rotary massage heads for the temporal zone to soothing tension headaches.