Self-management for Patients with Depression

Summary

In the joint project SELFPASS, an app is being developed that enables patients with depression to successfully manage their illness themselves. SELFPASS is not designed as a substitute for a psychotherapist, but is intended to serve as a support tool for patients who have been diagnosed but who cannot yet or not sufficiently receive therapeutic care (bridging).

Based on daily mood polls, medical data as well as biological and environmental data, individualized modules for therapeutic intervention are provided. These exercises therefore serve as stabilization in acute situations, for example through relaxation, reflection of daily experiences, thought patterns or exercises for overcoming fears.

Proven medical-psychological diagnostic procedures, multimedia intervention modules from the cognitive-behavioral and depth psychological method kit, innovative developments in sensor technology (vital parameter sensors, eye-tracking, facial expressions) as well as measurements of environmental data are used. Learning algorithms from the field of data mining and data analytics make situation-dependent decisions based on the available database.

The system is subject to the highest requirements for data protection and information security. An evaluation and success control will be carried out in the second and third project year.