Portrait of Coen Thornton

A Licensed Mental Health Counselor now working in User Research.

I study technology and systems to help technologists build safe and effective solutions for patient care.

Get in touch About me

00

Selected work

01

Behavioral Health Intake: An Expert Review and Research Plan

A sliding-scale counseling practice in NYC was converting about 1.25% of website visitors into sessions. In one week, I ran an expert review, funnel analysis and competitive analysis, then built a prototype and a research plan to test it on the live site.

MethodsExpert Review, Funnel Analysis, Competitive Analysis, IA Redesign

Read case study
Current-state customer journey map for a self-referred adult seeking counseling, across five stages from Awareness to Start Intake
Fig. 3Current-State Journey
Current-state information architecture diagram for redeemercounseling.com
Fig. 4Current-State IA
The prototype homepage: a header with an anchor rail for cost, openings, counselors, how it works and FAQ, then a hero reading "Counseling in New York City, priced on a sliding scale to your income", with chips for $70 to $250 a session, 31 openings this week and 48 counselors, above buttons to start an intake or get help right now
Fig. 5Prototype Homepage

02

Removing Barriers to New Rider Adoption in the NYC Ferry App

The NYC Ferry app was failing to convert potential riders before they ever boarded. A self-initiated usability study using think-aloud protocol and emotional journey mapping across three core tasks revealed significant navigation barriers that were pushing new users toward other transit options. Findings informed a clickable prototype redesigning the app's core routing and scheduling flows.

MethodsUsability Testing, Persona Development, Journey Mapping, Prototyping

Read case study
User Persona
Rachel
Social Copywriter · 27–32
Occasional Rider Mobile-First Exploration-Motivated
“I would give up and find the answers on Google.”
Goals
→ Reach Red Hook & Greenpoint via ferry
→ Buy tickets in-app, not at terminal
Pain Points
→ App can’t answer “can it get me there?”
→ Terminal names don’t map to neighborhoods
Fig. 7Rider Persona
Prototype Change 03
Neighborhood-first
terminal labels
Terminal names like “Stuyvesant Cove” left users with no geographic context — and no way forward.
3 of 5 participants couldn't confirm they found the right terminal even after completing the task
Before
ST. GEORGE
Ferry Terminal
After
ST. GEORGE
Staten Island
Ferry Terminal
Fig. 8Terminal Labels
NYC Ferry app journey map
Fig. 9Journey Map

03

Fig. 10Wait time by day

Reducing Wait Times at Solid State Coffee

Long wait times were impacting customer acquisition and raising reputational concerns at Solid State Coffee — but the root causes weren't obvious. Mixed methods research across consumer interviews, wait time analysis, and contextual inquiry surfaced the real bottlenecks and shifted how the organization prioritized its operational redesign.

MethodsContextual Inquiry, 1:1 Interviews, Mixed Methods, Service Design

Read case study
Avg wait time, in minutes
0:00 3:00 6:00 9:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 Wait time 4:14 3:19 7:33 8:13 3:12 11:25 8:37 6:05 14:42 7:52 4:51 12:43 Mon–Thu Friday Saturday Sunday
Fig. 11Wait Time Analysis
Service blueprint — current-state mapping
Fig. 12Service Blueprint
Solid State Coffee — counter and ordering area
Fig. 13Order Counter

Have a research question?Let’s talk.

Open to UX research roles and consulting, especially in healthcare and behavioral health tech.

Email

Get in touch LinkedIn