he Listening Lab is a non-clinical, psychologist-reviewed group wellness experience designed for emotional regulation, especially for individuals who are emotionally overwhelmed but not seeking formal therapy. Participants gather in structured “pods” with designated roles to avoid advice-giving and encourage expressive, coaching-style, and creative interaction.

This project offers students an opportunity to develop operational, technical, and strategic plans to scale the Listening Lab in healthcare-adjacent environments such as community wellness centers, university mental health programs, and domestic violence prevention services.

Key Capstone Focus Areas

Students will choose one or more of the following to develop as a team:

AI Integration – Chatbot Support System

• Design a training framework for a chatbot that can help keep pods on track (e.g., when members go off-topic, offer grounding techniques or redirect questions).
• Propose ethical and practical guardrails (e.g., data privacy, non-therapeutic scope, prompt design).

Technology & Application Design

• Develop requirements and mockups for a digital platform or mobile app to host and manage pod participation.
• Consider calendar integration, onboarding, role assignment, session structure, and light analytics (e.g., post-session check-ins).

Strategic Marketing & Partnership Plan

• Identify potential healthcare or wellness organizations as partners.
• Draft outreach and communication strategy for user acquisition and institutional support.
• Design a marketing plan tailored to underserved or therapy-averse populations.

Training Methodology & Implementation Playbook

• Create clear, accessible training materials that explain how to participate in a pod (e.g., facilitator guides, sample scripts, role explanations).
• Recommend digital onboarding and role rotation processes that minimize facilitation burden.

Deliverables

• Comprehensive project plan (objectives, timeline, roles, risks)
• Strategic proposal targeting one or more development areas above
• Data-informed insights (e.g., surveys, UX testing, research synthesis)
• Professional presentation of final recommendations and user/partner experience considerations
• Reflective report on capstone process, including leadership and communication takeaways