Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Nov 4, 2025
Date Accepted: Mar 24, 2026
Date Submitted to PubMed: Apr 8, 2026
While We Wait: A Service Design Blueprint to Address the Psychological Needs of Adolescents During the Wait Time for Mental Health Treatment
ABSTRACT
Background:
During the wait time for mental health treatment, adolescents have significant unmet psychological needs including severe psychological distress, increased use of maladaptive coping, and feelings of abandonment. Current wait time offerings across the mental health sector are sparse and lack clear evidence of effectiveness.
Objective:
Using Design Thinking, this early report outlines the development of a service blueprint for a new model of care (called While We Wait) that aims to address the psychological needs of adolescents during the wait time for mental health treatment in Australia using targeted support from General Practitioners (GPs) and digital single-session psychological interventions.
Methods:
Partnering with expert health service designers from Deloitte Digital Australia, we embarked on a rapid six-week health service design sprint. This iterative industry-led methodology involved a series of weekly activities including the development of service user personas and service experience principles, targeted service user consultation sessions with 12 Youth with Lived Experience (YLE) experts (aged 18 to 20 years) and 15 GPs, insight reporting, and service blueprint development.
Results:
The optimal service design was anchored in five key principles: “I’m never alone,” “It’s for me,” “I’m in control,” “It’s easy to use,” and “It lifts me up.” The service followed a five-stage journey: (1) Recognition (the adolescent acknowledges the need for support), (2) Initial consultation and onboarding with the GP, (3) Support and monitoring, (4) Preparation for treatment, and (5) Transition and follow-up. For adolescents, key service outcomes included uptake, acceptability, self-advocacy, mental health and well-being, perceived quality of care, and help-seeking intentions and behaviors. For GPs, key outcomes included uptake, feasibility, acceptability, and confidence in supporting adolescents during the wait time.
Conclusions:
This early report demonstrates that a rapid, industry-led Design Thinking approach can effectively prioritize adolescent needs during wait times and meet these by integrating GP support and low-intensity digital interventions. This work also highlights the value of co-designing mental health services with YLE and service providers. Clinical Trial: NA
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