KU Leuven Launches m-Path Software: Revolutionizing Therapeutic Treatment in Daily Life
With the help of a scientifically proven smartphone app, psychotherapists and psychologists can now enhance the treatment of their patients with interventions and questions in daily life. By bridging the gap between the treatment room and the real life of the patient, therapy becomes more efficient and effective. That is the mission of m-Path Software, a new spin-off from KU Leuven.
Just over one in five adult Flemish people meet the criteria for a mental disorder. This was shown last year by the Public Mental Health Monitor, a large-scale interuniversity study in Flanders . Those who take the step to seek help usually have to wait about three months before a psychologist or psychotherapist can start a trajectory. “In addition, once therapy has been started, it still does not take place where research shows it can have the most effect, namely in daily life,” says Merijn Mestdagh, former KU Leuven researcher and today co-founder of the spin-off m-Path Software, which wants to solve precisely that last problem.
Speaking and smartphone
m-Path Software is a spin-off from the Quantitative Psychology and Individual Differences research group of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at KU Leuven. Founded by researchers Merijn Mestdagh, Stijn Verdonck and Egon Dejonckheere, the young company helps therapists to continue their treatment outside their office, in the real life of the patient.
“With our app-based blended care platform called m-Path, psychologists and psychotherapists can supplement their traditional treatment with digital surveys and interventions that are tailored to the specific needs of each patient,” says Mestdagh. “The patient receives a notification at certain times during the day to fill in a few questions on their smartphone or to do a personalized exercise. The results are immediately sent to the therapist, who can then analyze them via an intuitive dashboard with visual summaries.”
“This combined approach of speaking and smartphone not only makes the therapeutic sessions in the office more efficient – you already know how the patient felt during the week and can respond more quickly – but also more effective. Because it allows the therapist to intervene directly in the daily life of the patient, where the psychological change ultimately has to happen.”
Longitudinal study
The spin-off builds on the latest insights in the field of the ‘Experience Sampling Method’ (ESM): an innovative data collection technique to monitor thoughts, feelings and experiences for a longer period of time in the same people in their real living environment. Together with professors Peter Kuppens and Francis Tuerlinckx, the founders of m-Path have further refined this technique, so that they could bring it to clinical practice via a user-friendly app.
“In addition, m-Path has a second application,” says Mestdagh. “Since ESM is a good method for conducting multiple surveys with the same group of people over a long period of time, and thus measuring changes over time, the app is also suitable as a tool for longitudinal research by universities and other research institutions.”
“Our app is also used in research practice. More than a hundred universities are currently using our software for research in various domains, usually large-scale studies with a thousand participants or more. But that application is separate from the use by therapists. The researchers do not have access to data from clinical practice, and vice versa. In addition, all data is stored on European servers and users can work with a pseudonym if they wish. This ensures data security and privacy.