Therapeutic FAQ

There is increasing interest in using mobile technologies such as smartphone applications in mental health care (Ben-Zeev, Davis, & Kaiser, 2013; Hind & Sibbald, 2015; Oh & DeVylder, 2015). Smartphones have become everyday devices and most people use them in their daily routine. Previous analyses showed that for young people, in particular ‘digital natives’ may be helpful to develop technology-based treatment approaches as a way of connecting with them on the topic oc mental health issues (Alvarez-Jimenez et al., 2014; Niendam et al., 2018; Seko, Kidd, Wiljer, & McKenzie, 2014).  Smartphone interventions have many advantages like accessibility, portability, 24 hours support or real time intervention. Using smartphones in everyday situations (i.e. on the  bus, school, on the street) is routine, hence interventions via Smartphone are not likely to be stigmatizing (Alvarez-Jimenez et al., 2014). These technologies allow for real time assessment. This provides more accurate data about real-world contexts in which experiences are made or symptoms occur (Ben-Zeev, 2012; Kimhy, Myin-Germeys, Palmier-Claus, & Swendsen, 2012). So, risk and protective factors in the psychosocial environment and their impact on mental health can be more easily identified. The problem of recall bias in retrospective reports can be reduced or avoided. This helps the psychotherapist to give more tailored feedback to support and reinforce changes in the patient’s behaviour according to their psychological health. Furthermore, self-monitoring also provides advantages for the patients themselves. The repeated measurement of their symptoms and mood  can reveal insights into their psychological processes (Beiwinkel, Hey, Bock, & Rössler, 2017). Reid and colleagues (Reid et al., 2013) found an increased self-awareness regarding their symptoms and mood after using a symptom-monitoring smartphone application in a group of younger psychiatric patients. There is also evidence, that adherence with the prescribed dose of medication can be improved through smartphone intervention (Granholm, Ben-Zeev, Link, Bradshaw, & Holden, 2012; Kauppi et al., 2015). In the treatment of psychotic disorders, the first research results from the use of smartphone applications are promising (Ben-Zeev et al., 2017; Bucci et al., 2018; Gaebel et al., 2016; Granholm et al., 2012; Schlosser et al., 2018; Torous, Firth, Mueller, Onnela, & Baker, 2017).

The clinicians from the specialized outpatient care unit for early intervention in psychosis have developed the smartphone app Robin Z for adolescents at clinical high risk of developing a psychotic disorder. App Robin Z follows the guidance on the quality of Mental health interventions in the treatment of psychotic disorders of the European Psychiatric Association EPA (Gaebel et al., 2016). The development of the app has been based on existing literature about smartphone apps in psychotherapy (Abdel-Baki, Lal, Charron, Stip, & Kara, 2015; Alvarez-Jimenez et al., 2014; Firth & Torous, 2015; Forchuk, Donelle, Ethridge, & Warner, 2015; Lal et al., 2015).

The clinical high risk-patients show a huge heterogeneity across symptomology and comorbid psychiatric diagnosis. Furthermore, a lot of them suffer from impairment in their daily functioning (for example education, socials skills or self-esteem). The use of the smartphone app can be personalized to the individual’s special needs depending on their stage of illness, presence of comorbidities or functional impairment. Therefore not only patients with a clinical high risk for psychosis can benefit from App Robin Z. Next to coping strategies for dealing with at risk-symptoms, the app also provides suggestion for dealing with other, non-psychosis-specific symptoms like anxiety, depression or concentration problems.  Besides symptom management, the app also offers positive reinforcement for dealing with the hurdle encountered in daily life. The app supports the users in their daily activities as well as in raising their self-esteem.

No, this App is not a replacement for appropriate medical treatment and management. This App is not intended to replace medical treatment, nor should it be viewed as such. This App is not a medical product in the sense of the Swiss Medical Devices Ordinance (MepV).

Robin Z is developed as an addition to the therapy and it is not treatment itself. We recommend using the app in combination with psychological treatment.