This thesis explores how digital twin technology might introduce a trade-off between datafication and lived, intuitive experience in psychiatric healthcare for people with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). A digital twin refers to a virtual simulation of a person’s behaviour and emotional states that is constructed through continuous data collection. Such systems promise more personalised and autonomous forms of care, yet they also raise ethical, relational, and interactional challenges. For people with PTSD, the ability to trust their own bodily signals is often disrupted. A digital twin could create a sense of enhanced self-understanding, yet at the same time risk undermining one’s relationship with lived experience.

Using speculative design research, this project examined how people with PTSD interpret and emotionally respond to potential technological futures. Through a combination of contextual immersion, expert interviews, and iterative prototyping, a final speculative design was developed that materialised the tension between analytical feedback and subjective reflection. This tension was expressed through an interactive experience that alternated between different modes of feedback, ranging from quantitative data to narrative and interpretive forms. The prototype was then tested with people with PTSD to ensure that their lived experiences were meaningfully translated. Their engagement revealed personal values related to how different forms of feedback shaped their sense of understanding and agency.

The findings show that the trade-off between datafication and lived experience is not an opposition of forces, but a productive tension that can be intentionally designed. When analytical insights are intertwined with guided personal reflection, digital twins can complement psychiatric care by creating conditions that support self-understanding, emotional safety, and interpretive agency. The study further revealed that the framing of feedback from the digital twin to the user strongly shapes whether the technology feels supportive or intrusive, and how trust in data is formed.

Finally, the study offers a set of recommendations for designers of future digital twin technologies, emphasising the need to balance predictive accuracy with reflective engagement that is sensitive to the richness of lived experience. In doing so, it positions speculative design as a method for anticipating the experiential and relational futures of psychiatric technologies before they are built.

The Child Brain Lab (CBL), a part of the Paediatric Brain Centre at Sophia Children’s Hospital within the Erasmus Medical Centre, is a scientific research and testing facility dedicated to children with brain conditions (CB). These children frequently experience isolation and lack of social contact due to their situations. These observations lead to the following research question, “How can design empower participants aged six to eighteen in the Child Brain Lab to use peer-sharing for preparation and support during their visits effectively?”

As CB frequently visit the hospital and are familiar with the medical setting, a CBL visit does not trigger much stress. So, it became clear that the main challenge was not solely to reduce stress but to empower these children to share their experiences, gain control, and connect with their peers. The CBL provided an ideal opportunity to address these needs as it aims to test hundreds of CB annually. CB did express a desire to be informed about procedures and often felt alone during hospital visits.

Several key findings were established from this research. Firstly, it became clear that children with brain conditions (CB) have unique knowledge from their personal experiences and are therefore experts in the area of their condition. Secondly, these children have a strong desire to help others and to learn new things. In addition, a number of barriers were recognised that CB often face, including limited information and empathy that does not meet their needs. To address these challenges, the approach focuses on creating a safe and supportive environment for peer interaction, bridging information gaps and simplifying complex medical language, by equal communication.

As a result, the design goal is to empower participants of the CBL to recognise their expertise and support them to express their experiences and share them with their peers.

These findings led to Lab Maatjes, a peer-sharing app tailored to the CBL journey. It was designed around the principles of self-determination theory. For autonomy, the app allows users to explore what CBL involves and why it is important. It also offers guidance and support to navigate the app and express themselves independently. It promotes competence by allowing them to share their stories, feel heard and seen, and gather the information they want to know. Finally, it provides relatedness by creating a trusted environment where they can connect with peers and gain insight into their experiences and how they relate to their views. Lab Maatjes creates an engaging preparation process that puts participants in control, makes them feel valued for their contributions to the CBL and ensures that they do not feel alone as they connect with peers.

This thesis concludes with an evaluation of the app, using the feedback of the CBL participants for quick iterations. The final sections of this report identify areas for improvement and recommendations for implementing the design, including creating two versions of the app for different age groups, implementing advanced features such as audio recording, and doing more research on the sharing behaviours of the participants.