Case study

Turning a functional counselling platform into a secure, scalable digital ecosystem

Stillpoint Spaces wanted its digital counselling platform to support more than online therapy. It also needed to connect digital services with real-world community engagement while remaining secure, reliable, and straightforward to operate.

  • Mental health, digital counselling
  • Custom Software & Product Development
  • Secure video sessions
  • Integrated service operations
  • UX redesign
  • WebRTC optimisation
  • Payments upgrade
  • Event system integration
Client
Stillpoint Spaces
Industry
Mental health, digital counselling
LLI Role
Custom Software & Product Development
Scope
UX redesign, WebRTC optimisation, payments upgrade, event system integration

Summary

LLI took responsibility for key product, architecture, engineering, and quality decisions. We redesigned core user journeys, improved WebRTC video sessions, upgraded payments, and integrated event management into the platform.

The result was a more cohesive counselling ecosystem designed to support trust, operational efficiency, and continued product growth.

The problem

Stillpoint Spaces had a strong product vision: combine digital counselling with real-world community engagement in one platform.

The existing product provided the core functionality, but several parts of the experience needed to evolve:

  • The interface did not make important user journeys sufficiently intuitive
  • Video sessions needed greater stability and security
  • Payments introduced unnecessary friction
  • Events operated separately from important parts of the platform experience

These were product and operational issues, not simply technical ones.

For clients, friction around booking, payments, or video sessions could affect confidence in a sensitive service. For counsellors, administrative work reduced the time available for clients. For the organisation, disconnected workflows made it harder to evolve the platform as the service grew.

The product therefore needed a stronger technical and product foundation without adding unnecessary complexity to day-to-day use.

Our approach

We began by understanding how counsellors, clients, and administrators actually used the platform.

Rather than treating UX, video, payments, and events as separate technical projects, we looked at how they connected across the complete counselling experience.

We prioritised

  1. 01

    Stable and secure video sessions

  2. 02

    Simple day-to-day workflows

  3. 03

    Smoother booking and payments

  4. 04

    Better integration between digital and on-site experiences

We focused development on the user journeys and technical changes that would have the greatest effect on service quality and operations.

At the same time, we kept the architecture maintainable so that future requirements could be introduced without creating unnecessary complexity.

The solution

LLI delivered the product and engineering changes required to turn the existing platform into a more integrated counselling ecosystem.

Core capabilities

  • Redesigned interface

    Rebuilt the interface across counsellor and client journeys.

  • Optimised WebRTC

    Improved the stability and security of video sessions.

  • Secure payments

    Integrated a secure payment system into the user journey.

  • Event management

    Added event management for both digital and on-site activities.

  • Counsellor dashboard

    Created a dashboard supporting session history and client management.

These capabilities brought previously separate parts of the service into a more consistent product experience.

The platform could now support online counselling, payments, client management, and community activities within the same digital environment.

Technology stack

  • Backend

    Ruby on Rails

    Continued product development within a mature application architecture.

  • Database

    PostgreSQL

    Reliable structured data management.

  • Operations

    Heroku

    Application deployment and operations.

  • Testing

    RSpec

    Confidence for the team as existing functionality evolved.

The existing stack provided a practical foundation for evolving the product without introducing unnecessary technology changes.

Engineering standards

The work extended an existing product, so maintainability and reliability were important throughout development.

Changes were implemented with attention to the behaviour that existing users and workflows already depended on. Automated testing with RSpec helped the team validate changes as the platform evolved.

Product and technical decisions were made in the context of the wider service rather than individual features, helping keep the platform coherent as new capabilities were introduced.

The goal was not simply to deliver the requested functionality, but to leave Stillpoint Spaces with software that could continue to evolve.

Results and impact

For users

  • Easier booking and a more consistent counselling journey
  • More reliable and secure video sessions
  • A smoother connection between online services and community activities

For counsellors

  • Less administrative effort around sessions and client management
  • Better access to relevant session and client information
  • More time available for work directly related to clients

For the organisation

  • More efficient day-to-day platform operations
  • A stronger foundation for combining digital counselling with community services
  • A product architecture better prepared for continued development and growth

Why this case matters

Stillpoint Spaces demonstrates what Custom Software & Product Development means in practice at LLI.

The engagement was not limited to implementing individual features. The team considered product journeys, architecture, engineering quality, operational workflows, and future maintainability together.

That approach matters when software supports sensitive services. Product decisions affect users, operational decisions affect specialists delivering the service, and technical decisions influence how safely and efficiently the organisation can continue to evolve the platform.

LLI takes responsibility across those areas so clients can develop software that works for current users while remaining maintainable as requirements and operating conditions change.

  • The value is software that supports the service today without limiting how the organisation can develop it tomorrow.

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