Designing Better Waitlist Experiences in Health and Mental Health Services

Dawnfield is a capstone & grad project focused on improving the waitlist experience for youth and young adults seeking mental health support. Many young people wait weeks or months before receiving care, often without guidance, emotional support, or clear communication. Dawnfield explores how peer support, wellness activities, and professional oversight can create a safer, more connected, and more human experience during this period.

Mental health has become one of the most urgent challenges facing youth and young adults today. Even though awareness of mental health has increased significantly since the 20th century, the systems meant to support people are still catching up. In British Columbia, many individuals, especially those over the age of 24, struggle to access mental health services due to long waitlists, limited free counselling options, and a lack of structured support during the waiting period. I chose this topic because I have personally experienced the emotional uncertainty that comes with seeking help, waiting for it, and not knowing what to do in the meantime. Through my own experience, and after witnessing similar challenges in peers, it became clear that what happens before someone receives therapy is often just as important as the therapy itself. This led me to ask: How might we redesign the waitlist experience so people don’t feel lost, unsupported, or forgotten?

This project focuses specifically on the age group 12–28, a period of life where mental health needs are high, while access gaps remain wide.

Youth mental health services in BC face long wait times. During this waiting period, symptoms can worsen…

How might we create meaningful support before formal support begins?

This project grew from a place of empathy and lived experience. I’ve seen what it feels like to wait for support, to feel unsure, overwhelmed, or alone during a time when help is desperately needed. Those memories stayed with me, and they shaped my belief that no one should feel unsupported while waiting for care. Dawnfield is my attempt to transform that difficult space into something more hopeful, where youth are guided, heard, and understood. Designing this project is not just academic work for me; it is a deeply personal commitment to helping others feel less alone.

I began by analyzing three major mental health services in BC: Foundry, Here2Talk, and PeerConnect BC. Each targets a different part of the spectrum—Foundry focuses on integrated support for youth, Here2Talk provides immediate crisis help, and PeerConnect BC builds the peer-support workforce.

Further, I reviewed two government reports from BC’s A Pathway to Hope initiative, which outline a 10-year strategy to improve mental health services. From these documents, several patterns emerged:

These findings confirmed that there is a systemic gap between seeking help and receiving care. Primary Research To understand the lived experience behind the data, I developed a multi-group primary research plan involving:

These findings confirmed that there is a systemic gap between seeking help and receiving care.

To understand the lived experience behind the data, I developed a multi-group primary research plan involving:

During the co-design workshop, I was able to collaboratively build an ideal support system with one mental health professional and one peer supporter. Together, we sketched out the floor plan, explored how different spaces would be used, and mapped the flow of interactions within the service. This process helped me better understand what professionals need in order to feel confident and safe supervising peer supporters, and what peer supporters need in order to feel prepared and empowered. It also gave me insight into how physical space, atmosphere, and layout can directly influence emotional safety, trust, and wellness. Overall, the workshop grounded my concept in real-world perspectives and ensured that the system reflects the practical needs of the people who would run and navigate it.

Through my primary research with mental health professionals, peer supporters, and individuals who have experienced waitlists, several key insights emerged. First, the waitlist period itself is often emotionally harmful, many participants described feeling forgotten, unsupported, or increasingly anxious as time passed. Second, trust is a major concern; individuals are hesitant to interact with peer supporters unless those peers are clearly trained and supervised. Third, mental health professionals welcome additional support but emphasize the need for structure, boundaries, and realistic implementation. Lastly, not everyone wants or feels comfortable with in-person interaction, highlighting the need for flexible and hybrid methods of support. Together, these insights revealed a critical gap in the system and emphasized the need for a safe, human-centered model that supports people before professional care even begins.

These insights shaped the emerging concept:
A structured, professionally guided interim-care system designed specifically for people on mental health waitlists.

The system includes:

The idea evolved from a broad support ecosystem into a more focused, feasible design aimed at improving one specific part of the system: the waitlist experience.

A ecosystem system that fills the gap between referral and treatment.

I wanted to create an ecosystem where mental health professionals provide a strong foundation, and peer supporters build on that foundation to offer a safe, accessible space for individuals.

By continuously comparing my design ideas with feedback from all three groups, I validated that this is not just a “good idea to me”—but a real gap recognized by everyone involved in the system. This iterative process transformed the project into a grounded, realistic service design concept supported by research, lived experience, and professional insight.

After completing the first half of my capstone project, I realized just how much research still needs to be done. This process has taught me far more than what is typically covered in my design education, especially about the complexity of mental health systems, the emotional realities of waitlists, and the responsibilities involved in designing for human well-being. I have learned that design is not only about creating solutions, but about listening deeply, understanding context, and shaping systems that genuinely support people. Looking ahead, I will continue conducting primary research, hosting more co design workshops, and refining the service through real feedback. I treat this project as a part of myself, something shaped by my own experiences, values, and hopes for a more compassionate support system. I am committed to growing it with care, responsibility, and empathy.