Behavioral Health Triage Flow

Behavioral Health Triage introduces a first-of-its-kind experience in the healthcare insurance space, designed to guide members toward appropriate mental health support through a personalized, step-by-step interface. By combining user-friendly UI patterns, such as visual selection components and simplified triage questions, the flow reduces entry barriers and empowers members to self-identify care needs with confidence. This innovative approach has redefined how behavioral health is accessed—streamlining navigation, improving care matching, and setting a new industry standard for mental health support in digital healthcare.

Project Overview

The Behavioral Health Triage flow was designed to simplify the process of finding mental health support by guiding members through a personalized, step-by-step experience—ensuring they are matched with the most appropriate care based on their needs.

My Role

Interaction Design, Visual Design, UAT and Execution Support, Post-iteration support

Teammate(s)

Lead Visual Designer: Lauren Leonard

Duration

6 Weeks

Deliverables

Wireframes, Prototypes, Usability Testing Plans and Reports, Final design specs and handoffs

Setting the Stage

Accessing mental health care through insurance platforms is often confusing, fragmented, and emotionally taxing—especially for users who may already be experiencing distress. At Florida Blue, we identified a critical gap in how behavioral health services were surfaced and accessed. Members lacked a guided way to explore care options that matched their specific needs, often relying on trial-and-error searches or generalized provider directories.

This project set out to change that by creating a dedicated Behavioral Health Triage flow—a first-of-its-kind experience in the insurance industry. The goal was to provide members with a supportive, streamlined path to care by asking the right questions, using intuitive design, and presenting clear, tailored results based on their input. This effort not only improved access and confidence for members but also laid the groundwork for a more compassionate and responsive approach to digital mental health support.

User Testing

Since behavioral health triage flow is the pioneer in healthcare insurance industry, we spotlight on user testing heavily this time.

First we tested where we wanted the definition of each category in this flow.

Definition on page

Definition in tooltip

Definition in modal

Then we tested on different scenarios.

All happy paths

Child account

Spouse account

Documenting UI Pattern

Image button was invented to allow members select multiple steps on one page, largely reducing the amount of time member spent on looking for the right category and department.

Delivering Results

Desktop

Native Mobile

Final Takeaway

  • Designing for emotional sensitivity: I learned how to create experiences that are not only functional but also empathetic—carefully considering tone, cognitive load, and emotional safety for users in distress.

  • Reducing friction in vulnerable moments: By simplifying choices and removing unnecessary complexity, I enabled users to reach appropriate mental health resources faster and with less confusion.

  • Inventing new UI patterns: Developing the “image button” interaction taught me how to innovate within UI systems to make triage steps feel less clinical and more approachable.

  • Balancing clarity and personalization: I designed a flow that adapts to individual inputs while maintaining a consistent structure, helping members feel seen without overwhelming them.

  • Creating first-in-industry experiences: This project was a rare opportunity to define an entirely new digital path to care in a space with no existing precedent, blending UX strategy, behavioral health insight, and platform constraints.

  • Setting new standards in digital mental health: This work demonstrated how thoughtful UX design can remove barriers, normalize mental health care access, and lead to scalable, high-impact solutions within traditional insurance models.