CBASP, short for cognitive behavioral analysis system of psychotherapy, is a therapy used for self-treatment of chronic depression. The app serves as a digital tool to practice therapy and its various activities such as the situational analysis.
Jim CBASP is a personal project initiated by our customer Anne-Marie Gloor. Our goal was to develop a mobile application, personified as “Jim”. Jim serves as a buddy, helping people who suffer from chronic depression by providing a digital toolset for an easier and more accessible way to practice CBASP methods anywhere and anytime. We wanted to create an app that provides a relaxed user experience and which encourages patients to capture experiences on their mobile phone, since this is key for CBASP to be effective. Furthermore, it should also be possible to for patients in therapy to share their data via export with their psychotherapists. This way the app benefits therapists as well by making it easier for them to support their patients. The final goal was the release of Jim CBASP to offical app stores.
Our customer realized that, after the official talking therapy ends, there is a lack of support and tools that help people to continue practicing CBASP. The idea for this app was brought to life within a CBASP support group, that formed after their institutionally guided therapy had ended. The members of our group wanted a tool that supports them in doing CBASP effectively even without a therapist.
A major part of CBASP therapy is Situational Analysis. The patient has to write down notes of situations they deal with in their daily life to try to understand and improve their behaviour. Doing a Situational Analysis with its numerous sets can be quite a daunting task, particularly for beginners. Additionally, handwritten notes are inconvenient and increase the chance that patients refrain from documenting key situations or bringing their documents to therapy. With our application, the patient can capture their feelings and experience right after they happen. Jim lowers the barrier for doing Situational Analyses by leading them through the process, explaining each step in detail.
People suffering from chronic depression often have difficulties understanding basic daily social interactions. The Kiesler Kreis is a model based in behavioural science to help navigating those interactions. We developed a feature based on this model which enables the user to better understand how to react to conflicts.
The patients can export the notes of all their Situational and Future Analysis as PDF and send it to their therapist. Afterwards the notes can be discussed and used in patients support groups which can increase the success of their personal CBASP therapy.
