“We Didn’t Need More Tools. We Needed to Build Our Own.”
- By Dr. Tatyana El-Kour
- Mar 30
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 1
A Story of Digital Innovation from Mental Health Practitioners in Yemen
In 2024, in the middle of power outages and broken connections, 23 Yemeni mental health
professionals came together online with a shared purpose: to stop waiting for solutions and start building their own.
One of them, Aisha, a psychosocial support worker in Al Hudaydah, spent nights sketching
rough app designs by candlelight. Her design showed a simple, friendly screen in Arabic—a
voice option for those who cannot read, and a gentle prompt asking: “How are you feeling
today?”
This was not a side project. It was a shift in mindset. These practitioners were not just attending a training. They were reimagining how mental health support could work in Yemen.
Why This Work Had to Happen
Digital mental health tools have been hailed globally as scalable, accessible, and cost-effective. But in Yemen, practitioners told a different story.
“The tools are in English.”
“They don’t work offline.”
“They don’t reflect how people here think, feel, or talk about mental health.”
This project began with a single goal: equip mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) practitioners in Yemen with user-centered design (UCD) and content creation skills so they could co-create digital tools that work in the real conditions they face every day.
How the Project Was Structured
The project took place in 2024 and followed a hands-on, three-phase model grounded in iteration and collaboration.
Phase 1: Listening and Learning
Bilingual surveys revealed that while many practitioners had strong therapeutic experience, few had ever engaged with digital design. But all had deep insight into what their clients need—and what does not work.
Phase 2: Designing for Their Reality
A tailored curriculum introduced UCD concepts like wire-framing, journey mapping, and
usability testing. Sessions encouraged practitioners to think not like app users, but like
designers—with their clients at the center.
Working in small groups, they developed and tested a prototype tool for delivering basic
psychosocial support in Arabic—one designed to function offline, with low data requirements and voice-based prompts.
Phase 3: Practice, Feedback, and Mentorship
A two-week online course, paired with targeted mentoring, gave space to experiment, revise, and reflect. Despite internet interruptions, participants remained highly engaged, adapting designs based on feedback from peers and simulated user testing.
What the Team Built—and Why It Mattered?
92% of participants reported stronger confidence in designing user-centered tools.
A functional prototype was created and tested—with features tailored to low-tech, high-need environments.
Feedback from practitioners and test users confirmed: this tool felt relevant, practical, and rooted in Yemen’s reality.
Challenges We Faced
As with any effort grounded in real-world constraints, challenges emerged:
Some practitioners struggled with limited access to devices or stable internet.
Ongoing mentorship and technical support remain necessary for long-term use.
The tool itself is only as powerful as the system it connects to—future efforts must tie
usage to measurable care outcomes.
What is Next for 2025
The work does not end with the prototype. In June 2025, the project will be presented at the Society for Digital Mental Health Annual Meeting, where it will stand as an example of how digital innovation in conflict zones must start with local leadership.
What We have Learned
Digital design isn’t just for tech teams—it belongs in the hands of those closest to the
need.
Simplicity is power, especially in crisis-affected settings.
Practitioners in Yemen are ready not just to deliver care—but to shape it.
A Final Word
“We didn’t need someone to give us another tool. We needed someone to trust us to build
our own.” That trust was the foundation of this project—and it is what we will carry
forward into the next phase. Because healing in Yemen will not come from outside-in
solutions. It will come from inside-out change, led by those who live it every day.
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