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Disclaimer: This blog post was created with the assistance of AI. While the content reflects my personal experiences and insights, the AI was used to enhance the writing process and ensure clarity.
Introduction
Mental health is a vital part of overall well-being, but unfortunately, many people face barriers when it comes to accessing therapy. Whether due to financial constraints, long waitlists, or lack of awareness, many individuals find themselves unable to connect with the help they need. On the other side of this equation, many postgraduate psychology students are looking for opportunities to gain practical experience while fulfilling the requirements for their coursework.
It was this gap that sparked the idea behind Calm Wave Therapy—a web platform designed to connect individuals in need of therapy with postgrad psychology students who are looking to offer therapy sessions at a reduced cost or even for free. The goal was simple: create a supportive, accessible environment where both clients and students could benefit from each other's presence.
While the project ultimately didn’t come to full fruition due to a shift in focus by one of the co-founders, I built a working prototype using Flask and PostgreSQL that showcased the potential for such a service. Here’s a glimpse into the development of the prototype and the vision behind Calm Wave Therapy.
The Initial Concept: Bridging the Gap
The concept for Calm Wave Therapy was driven by two main goals:
- Providing Affordable Therapy: Therapy can be prohibitively expensive for many people. Postgrad students, on the other hand, need real-world experience to fulfill their academic requirements and enhance their skills. By connecting these students with clients who are willing to receive therapy at a low price (or even for free), we could offer a mutually beneficial solution.
- Offering Practical Experience: Psychology students are required to complete a certain number of therapy hours as part of their coursework. Calm Wave Therapy would give them the opportunity to practice with real clients, which is essential for their development as professionals.
Through this idea, we hoped to create a service that would help reduce the stigma around seeking therapy, while providing an invaluable learning experience for budding therapists.
The Technology Stack: Flask and PostgreSQL
To quickly prototype the project and test its feasibility, I chose to build the platform using Flask and PostgreSQL. Here’s why I selected this tech stack:
- Flask: This lightweight Python web framework was perfect for creating a small-scale application with simple routing and functionality. Flask allowed me to focus on building core features without getting bogged down in complexity. It’s easy to work with for prototyping and, even though it’s simple, it's powerful enough to support scalable web apps.
- PostgreSQL: I chose PostgreSQL as the database to store information about clients, therapists, and session records. Its reliability, scalability, and flexibility made it an excellent choice for handling the relational data we needed to track, such as user profiles, session bookings, and session feedback.
Key Features of the Calm Wave Therapy Prototype
The prototype I built was designed to be simple but functional. Here’s a breakdown of some of the core features:
- User Registration & Profiles: Both clients and therapists (students) can create profiles on the platform. Therapists could list their credentials, areas of expertise, and availability. Clients could describe their needs and preferences in therapy, helping match them with an appropriate therapist.
- Session Booking: Clients could browse available therapists and book therapy sessions based on the therapist’s listed availability. The platform allowed for easy scheduling and offered flexibility in choosing therapists who matched the client's specific needs.
- Forum for Anonymous Interaction: The platform included a forum where clients could interact anonymously. This space provided a supportive environment for users to share their experiences, ask questions, and provide feedback. The anonymous nature of the forum encouraged openness and comfort for individuals who may be hesitant to engage in a more public or identifiable space.
User Interface: Built with Bootstrap
To ensure a clean and user-friendly experience, the app’s frontend was designed using Bootstrap, a popular open-source CSS framework. Bootstrap allowed me to create a responsive layout with minimal effort, ensuring that the platform would look good on both desktop and mobile devices.
- Responsive Design: The app automatically adjusted its layout based on the screen size, making it accessible for users on different devices.
- Clean UI/UX: The goal was to make the platform intuitive and easy to navigate, with simple forms for registration, session booking, and profile management.
By using Bootstrap, I was able to focus more on the functionality of the application rather than spending too much time on custom styling.
The Road to Completion—and Why It Didn’t Happen
Although the prototype was functional and demonstrated the potential of Calm Wave Therapy, the project ultimately didn’t move beyond this point. The other co-founder of the project decided to pursue different aspirations, which meant the idea was shelved.
However, building the prototype was an invaluable experience. It was a chance to explore how technology can be used to solve real-world problems in the mental health space. It also allowed me to experiment with building a full-stack web application from scratch, using Flask and PostgreSQL to create a platform that could one day help people find the support they need at an affordable cost.
The Future of Calm Wave Therapy
While Calm Wave Therapy as an official product may no longer be actively developed, the concept is still powerful and holds a lot of promise. With the growing need for accessible mental health care, the idea of connecting clients with student therapists is an innovative and meaningful solution.
If you’re interested in taking a closer look at the prototype, feel free to check it out. While it's not a fully developed product, it’s a testament to how technology can be leveraged to make mental health services more accessible.
Closing Thoughts
Building Calm Wave Therapy was a rewarding project that brought together the worlds of mental health and technology. It highlighted the importance of addressing mental health barriers while simultaneously providing real-world experience for the next generation of therapists.
Though the project has been put on pause, the lessons learned and the work done on the prototype remain a valuable part of my development journey. I truly believe there’s great potential in such a platform—one that connects clients with aspiring therapists—and hope that, one day, this concept may be revived to help those in need.