Mental health support questions that show how hard the first step felt
Ask patients how reaching out went, from the first contact and the wait to the support that fits their life. Each question below comes with when to ask it and what the answer tells you.
What mental health services survey questions tell you
Mental health services survey questions ask patients about the path to support: how easy it was to ask in the first place, how long they waited for a first session, whether they knew their options and whether they felt taken seriously. The first step can be the hardest, and a service that makes it slow or confusing loses people before care begins.
Ask after the first session, or a few weeks after first contact for patients still waiting, and keep it to four or five questions. Send by email or by a link in your own message. Keep every question on access and the service: Usertick doesn't sign business associate agreements, so ask nothing about symptoms or diagnoses, and keep the placeholder that asks for no medical details.
Turn on anonymous responses for website, link or QR code surveys, and no user ID, traits or visitor ID is stored with the answer; surveys sent through Usertick email are not anonymous. Each written answer gets a category, a theme, a sentiment and an urgency. A survey is never a crisis channel, so end every survey with the support message that points to your crisis line.
- Questions
- 14
- Best asked
- After the first session
- Industry
- Healthcare
- Where to find them
- From library in the Usertick survey editor, on every plan
The 14 getting mental health support questions, with when to ask each
Grouped by what they tell you. Use them as they are or change the wording.
Reaching out
Start with how hard the first step was and how it went, so you know which route into the service needs work.
- 01Customer effort
How easy was it to ask for support in the first place?
A customer effort score for asking for support, on a 7 point scale. Results shows the average and the share who found it easy, a headline for the first step into your service.
- 04Multiple choice
How did you first reach out?
How the patient first reached out, including I have not yet. Select an answer in Results to filter the page and compare waits and welcome ratings by route.
- 05Stars
How welcome did the first contact make you feel?
A star rating for how welcome the first contact felt. Results shows the average and the share who rated 4 or higher, worth sharing with whoever answers first.
- 06Ranking
Rank what made reaching out hard
Patients put six barriers in order, from not knowing where to start to getting an appointment. Results shows the average place per item, which tells you which barrier to tackle first.
Knowing the options and the wait
These questions show whether patients knew what was open to them and how the wait was handled.
- 03Yes / No
Did you know what options were open to you?
A yes or no on knowing the options. Each No is a patient who may not have heard of group, video or self-help support, so check how options are explained at first contact.
- 02Ruler
How many weeks did you wait for your first session?
Weeks until the first session, on a ruler up to a year. Results shows the median and the middle half, which tells you whether long waits are the norm or the exception.
- 10Yes / No
Were you offered something to help while you waited?
A yes or no on being offered something during the wait. Results shows the share that said yes; a low share is a reason to offer materials or a group while people wait.
- 12Matrix
How true were these when you asked for support?
Four statements, from knowing where to go to changing an appointment easily, rated from strongly disagree to strongly agree. The heat map shows which one pulls the experience down.
Support that fits
Ask how well the support fits and what patients would prefer, before you change the mix of formats and check-ins.
- 08Big scale
How well does the support you were offered fit your life?
How well the support fits the patient's life, from 1 to 10. Results shows the average and a column per step; read low scores with the preference question to see what would fit better.
- 09Dropdown
How would you prefer to be supported?
How the patient would prefer to be supported, from in person to materials on their own. Results shows each share in a donut, which helps when you plan the mix of formats.
- 11Multiple choice
How often would you like to be checked on?
How often the patient wants to be checked on. Results shows each share in a donut; Usertick has no recurring sends, so use the answer to plan your own check-in calls.
Help and open answers
End with the support message and the open questions, so every patient sees where to turn and can add what the scores missed.
- 13Call to action
Support is there if you want to talk to someone today
A call to action with a button that opens your crisis or support page. Put your own line and hours on that page, and place this question where every patient sees it.
- 07Text
What would make asking for support easier?
The open question on making it easier to ask. The placeholder asks for no medical details; filter by theme to read every comment about forms, waits or cost together.
- 14Text
What would you say to someone thinking about reaching out?
Advice for someone thinking about reaching out, in the patient's own words. Ask before you quote anyone on your website, and keep the placeholder asking for no medical details.
Tips for asking about getting mental health support
Small choices that get honest, useful answers.
- 01
Ask about access, never symptoms
Usertick doesn't sign business associate agreements, so ask about the steps, the wait and the welcome, and leave symptoms and diagnoses out. Keep the placeholder asking for no medical details.
- 02
Always point to crisis help
A survey is never a crisis channel. End every survey with the support message and your crisis line, whatever the patient answered.
- 03
Offer anonymous answers
Turn on anonymous responses for link or QR code surveys, so patients can speak freely about the service. Surveys sent through Usertick email are not anonymous.
- 04
Ask the people still waiting
Send the wait questions to patients who reached out but haven't had a first session, since they see the wait most clearly.
Add these questions to a survey
From the library to the first answers.
- 1
Open the library
In the Usertick survey editor, choose From library, filter by industry and topic, and add several questions at once.
- 2
Or paste your own list
Paste questions reads up to 10 questions from any text on Free, 100 on Starter and 200 on Pro and above, keeps your wording and picks an answer type for each.
- 3
Choose where it runs
Show the survey on your website, send it by email, share its link and QR code, or switch it to a conversation.
- 4
Read the answers
Results counts every score and choice, and Usertick reads each written answer and files it by topic, on every plan.
Templates and more questions about getting mental health support
Full surveys that ask about the same things, and neighboring topics in the library.
Templates
Browse all templatesFrequently asked questions
After the first session, or a few weeks after first contact for patients still waiting. Usertick sends to a contact list now or on a date up to 30 days ahead.
Yes, for website, link or QR code surveys: with anonymous responses on, no user ID, traits or visitor ID is stored. Surveys sent through Usertick email are not anonymous.
Four or five: the effort score, the wait, whether the options were clear, the statements grid and an open question, followed by the support message.
Keep those out. Usertick doesn't sign business associate agreements, so ask about access and the service, and keep clinical questions in your clinical tools.
Yes. The question library comes with every plan, the free plan included, and the free plan covers 150 responses a month across your surveys.
Yes. Once a question is in your survey, reword it, change its options or its answer type, and add logic to skip it for some answers.
Yes. The library is translated into Usertick's built-in languages, and in any other language it shows in English for you to translate.
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