Nystrom & Associates

Nystrom & Associates provides mental health and substance abuse services to Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. They have 60+ clinics and employ over 1,000 providers.

Challenge

Nystrom & Associates grew rapidly to over 50 clinics, but its website did not keep pace. It failed to support key user needs, especially helping users understand and choose the right mental health services.

Solution

Redesign the website to better support user goals, while reflecting the scale and impact of Nystrom's comprehensive mental health services.

Impact

Increased appointment request submissions by 62%
Increased conversions across mental health service pages by an average of 40%
Increased repeat users by 15%, strengthening brand loyalty

Defining the Problem

Research Methods

Market Research

Competitor Analysis

Usability Review

Focus Groups

User Interviews

Key Insights

Barriers to Access: Affordability, insurance limitations, limited in-person options, and long wait times prevent users from accessing care.
Poor Provider Matching: Many patients discontinue treatment when providers do not align with their specific needs.
Difficulty Finding a Provider: While 60% of users were able to find a provider on the Nystrom website, 75% prefer to search independently online and select a provider before booking an appointment.
Hesitation Due to Uncertainty: Many users are hesitant to seek treatment due to unclear expectations about the process and negative media perceptions.

Card Sort Test

While observing users via screen recordings and heatmaps, I noticed frequent back-and-forth navigation and heavy reliance on search, signaling a need to improve the site's information architecture. I conducted a card sorting test with 10 participants to reorganize the site's navigation, based on how users naturally grouped content.

Results

After implementing the new navigation, the site saw a lower bounce rate, fewer quick click-backs, and increased usage of the menu over the search function.

Wireframes

After establishing the navigation structure and synthesizing research insights, I designed wireframes in Figma. These addressed user concerns by highlighting provider-switching options, adding “What to Expect” sections to reduce hesitation and encourage appointment requests, and more.

UI Design & Development

The mockups featured a clean, bright design, paired with uplifting imagery, to highlight the positive outcomes of mental health treatment. The new design intentionally shifted focus away from the stigma and negative perceptions associated with seeking care. It also aligned with Nystrom's mission statement to “Become the best version of yourself.”

The photo style emphasized diversity, representing LGBTQIA+ individuals, people with developmental disabilities, and other communities served by Nystrom's diverse client base.

I developed the designs in WordPress, leveraging my experience as a WordPress developer.

Finding a provider was super simple. I liked that I could search by condition and location.

- Nystrom Client

Results

Improved Provider Matching

To help users quickly find the right provider, I designed custom filters for location, services, and specialties.
Clear call-to-action buttons were also added throughout the experience to make it easier for users to request an appointment.
Increased appointment requests by 8%
Received Net Promoter Score of 4.2 out of 5 when surveyed “how easy is it to find a provider?”

Removing Barriers to Treatment

Service pages for therapy, psychiatry, and more suffered from a low engagement rate and did not address users' common concerns before requesting treatment.
I partnered with a copywriter to restructure these pages with service overviews, accepted insurance details, “What to Expect” sections, and FAQs that reduced uncertainty and answered key questions upfront.
Improved engagement time by 34%
Increased appointment request button clicks by 120%

Congratulations 👏

You finished Nystrom's case study. Thanks for reading!

Previous Project Wilder Foundation Website

Next Project Kilo Strength & Performance Website