Rauha —
Mental Health Therapy App
Led React Native development of a CBT-based therapy app from scratch to production on both App Store and Play Store — delivering structured 8-week programs, journaling, real-time chat, and certified accessibility.
Year
2024
Industry
Healthcare / Mental Health
Client
Rauha
Duration
3+ months
01 —Problem
Therapy doesn't stop when the session ends
For most patients, the work of therapy happens between sessions — and that's exactly where the support runs out. Without a structured way to practice what they've learned, track how they're feeling, or stay connected to their progress, a lot of what happens in a therapy room just doesn't stick. On top of that, getting access to professional mental health support in the first place is still out of reach for a lot of people — too expensive, too far, or just too much of a barrier to start.
Therapists faced their own version of the same problem. With no way to see how patients were doing between appointments, they were essentially working blind — walking into each session without knowing whether someone had a rough week or had quietly stopped engaging altogether.
02 —Agitation
A mental health app has to earn trust — fast
The tricky part with an app like this isn't the tech — it's the experience. CBT has a very specific structure to it, and if that structure feels rigid or clinical, patients disengage. Nobody wants to feel like they're filling out forms for their therapist. The whole thing had to feel like something a person would actually want to open on a hard day.
Then there's the accessibility piece. Mental health patients include people with visual impairments, cognitive differences, and high anxiety around complex interfaces. Building something that works for everyone — not just the average user — wasn't optional. It was the whole point.
03 —Solution
Structured therapy that actually feels human
I led the full React Native development of Rauha from the ground up — taking it all the way from initial build to live on both the App Store and Play Store. The app delivers an 8-week CBT program broken into guided modules that patients move through at their own pace, with assessments, worry logs, journaling, and self-monitoring tools woven in naturally so progress builds without feeling like homework. Real-time chat keeps patients connected to their support system, and push notifications gently keep them on track without being intrusive. Everything is backed by a secure Node.js backend built to handle sensitive health data responsibly.
The accessibility work was something I invested real time in — going beyond the basics to make sure the app worked properly for patients with different needs, and earning a formal accessibility certificate in the process. It's one of those things that's easy to skip when you're under pressure to ship, but for an app in this space it genuinely matters.
04 —Summary
Shipped, certified, and actually used
Patients are completing the full 8-week program, and the app is live on both platforms with a certified accessibility standard behind it. Leading this one from scratch to production — architecture, UX flows, accessibility, and deployment — is probably the project I'm most proud of in my portfolio.
