Belgian app helps psychotherapists for real-life practice
A new KU Leuven spin-off has developed a smartphone application that may be able to take psychotherapy to the next level.
Sure, it’s important to go and see your psychotherapist, but did you know that studies suggest that a real-life therapy environment would be the most beneficial? Of course you can’t take your therapist with you everywhere you go, but KU Leuven researchers may have found a way to bring them a bit closer to their clients. In a way, you kind of can now: the invention allows for blended care, a combination of psychotherapy sessions and a little help from the digital world.
It works like this: the client’s smartphone can prompt them to open the new mobile application and fill in a questionnaire sent to them by the therapist, or it could ask them to carry out a tailor-made exercise in the real world. The results of such a questionnaire or exercise then instantly get transmitted to the therapist and they can analyse these results and steer where necessary.
Along with offering a broader therapeutic approach, the developers say the application also keeps the therapist more informed and up to speed, allowing in theory for more efficient therapy sessions in the traditional therapeutic setting.
An interesting evolution at the crosspoint of human and machine intelligence, wouldn’t you say?