Summary
How do you design engaging communications experiences when the audience you serve faces obstacles to connect? The National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (NCPTSD) strives to provide Veterans with tangible resources and information to help with mental health and seeking treatment. Historically, there’s been a significant portion of the Veteran population NCPTSD has not been able to reach and they needed to better understand their audience’s pain points and how to connect effectively. Over the past two years, we’ve taken a human-centered approach to empathize with and understand the Veteran experience to better reach and communicate with them.
Key Insights
-
•
Up to 30% of Vietnam veterans experience PTSD in their lifetime, vastly higher than the 6% average among civilians.
-
•
Nearly three-quarters of those exposed to violent trauma report alcohol use disorders, linking PTSD with substance abuse and suicide risk.
-
•
Less than half of veterans who died by suicide had contact with VA healthcare in the two years prior, highlighting access and trust issues.
-
•
Military culture often stigmatizes admitting mental health challenges, making veterans hesitant to seek help.
-
•
Aligning clearly articulated goals with measurable success criteria is essential before designing outreach communications.
-
•
Superficial audience segmentation is insufficient; deep personas revealing demographic and emotional diversity improve outreach precision.
-
•
Mapping audience journeys with key touchpoints enables targeted messaging that addresses veterans' real concerns and obstacles.
-
•
Effective campaigns rely on combining core messaging themes with the appropriate communication vehicles—emails, SMS, social media—tailored to audience preferences.
-
•
Digitizing initiatives like the PTSD Pledge Form can dramatically increase participation and awareness.
-
•
The PTSD Coaching app campaign saw a 65% initial download increase, evidencing that direct digital engagement can empower veterans to manage symptoms.
Notable Quotes
"At any given year, 10 to 20% of veterans will suffer from PTSD, compared to only 6% of civilians."
"Nearly three quarters of those surviving violent trauma report alcohol use disorders, which can lead to thoughts of suicide."
"Military training focuses on strength and protecting others, not admitting vulnerabilities or asking for help."
"Knowing generally where you’re going is not the same as having clearly articulated goals, objectives, and measurements for success."
"Without alignment on goals, communication efforts get scattered, resulting in ineffective outreach."
"We created personas that address who the veteran is, what their goals are, their pain points, and their experiences with the VA."
"We break down overarching messages into pillar messages and key proof points to create digestible, empathetic communication."
"Between February and March 2020, promoting the PTSD Coaching app led to a 65% increase in downloads."
"The Step Up for PTSD Virtual Walk exceeded its goal of 2,700 participants, with more than 30,000 app downloads for the event."
"This veteran-centric approach gives us a foundation to grow outreach and better serve veterans struggling with PTSD over time."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"The core question UX researchers ask is did we solve the right problem for the user, while PMs ask did the metric move."
Kurt McCullochFaster alone, further together: Rebuilding collaboration in the age of AI research
March 10, 2026
"A typical enterprise customer has like five analysts who need a login, not millions of users."
Dan WillisEnterprise Storytelling Sessions
May 13, 2015
"The new chapter in the second edition looks at service design as a change methodology for organizations, recognizing how ambitious it can be."
Lavrans Løvlie Ben ReasonAsk me anything – Authors of Service Design: From Insight to Implementation
November 19, 2025
"If you’re a team of one, focus on getting one stakeholder at a time to sponsor your work."
Jon White Erin MayUnsticking Research for Better Information Flow
March 11, 2026
"This emerging AI technology has given us a golden opportunity to combine the heart and brain of technology and make meaningful impact."
Liwei DaiThe Heart and Brain of the AI Research
March 31, 2020
"When I was at IBM, embedded designers were expected to fit in seamlessly, which was an honor."
Smitha Papolu Nova Wehman-Brown Melissa Schmidt Adam MenterTheme 3 Discussion
January 8, 2024
"One of the challenges for designers is to orient around forces rather than only people."
Sheryl CababaLiving in the Clouds: Adopting a Systems Thinking Mindset
June 6, 2023
"We cannot practice women-centricity without including an active role for men."
Mansi GuptaWomen-Centric Research: What, Why, How
March 29, 2023
"Business is just people who may be working with design but don’t quite get how design helps them."
Francesca Barrientos, PhDYou Need Your Own Definition of Design Maturity
June 8, 2022
