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Technology/Digital Health

(PS8-69) Enhancing User Experience in Therapist-Facing Digital Training Tools

Saturday, November 22, 2025
4:30 PM - 5:30 PM CST
Location: Elite Hall A, Level 1
Abstract Text: Digital tools hold promise for expanding therapists’ access to training in evidence-based treatments (EBTs), but user experience (UX) issues often hinder the adoption of such tools. While existing UX principles guide mobile app development for general consumers, they do not address the unique needs of clinical psychology. They often fail to consider aspects like psychoeducation, risk management, and appropriate supervision required for training therapists. Theorists have developed UX standards for mental health interventions, but there is no guidance that currently exists for digital tools intended to train therapists to provide evidence-based interventions. To address this gap, we conducted user testing on TherapyTrainer, a novel large language model (LLM)-based application for training therapists in an EBT for post-traumatic stress disorder, written exposure therapy (WET). TherapyTrainer allows therapists to practice delivering WET to an AI-simulated patient while receiving on-demand feedback from an AI consultant modeled after experts. We conducted qualitative user testing interviews with therapists (n = 6). We transcribed therapist feedback and segmented it into individual utterances (“feedback items”), distinguished from other content (e.g., praise, personal statements, irrelevant content, and feature requests). We categorized feedback items (n = 88) according to the following existing UX principles: cognitive load, realism/ecological validity, learnability/onboarding, usability, system feedback, interaction cost, user trust, navigation, and aesthetic design. The most common UX principles invoked in user feedback were cognitive load and realism/ecological validity (23% of items respectively), followed by learnability/onboarding (18% of items) and usability (15% of items). Drawing inspiration from existing UX heuristics for the implementation of EBTs, we developed a novel heuristic for each UX principle identified to inform and guide development of digital therapist training tools. For instance, we established the realism/ecological validity heuristic: “Realistic for users: Emulate real-world conditions to increase fidelity and engagement” in response to therapist feedback that it was unclear how much to treat the simulated session like a real one. AI-based tools like TherapyTrainer can bridge the research-practice gap by improving the dissemination and implementation of EBTs, but the effectiveness and widespread adoption of these tools likely depends on their ease of use. The heuristics identified here provide a structured approach to improving the experience of therapists using tools designed to support the dissemination and implementation of EBTs. This study was limited to data gathered only through user testing, and examined only one tool.