Česky
Mindwalk is a modern, user-friendly digital platform that aims to offer help to clients with mild and moderate mental disorders and support mental health and mental well-being. The client is guided through the app, which over the course of eight to twelve weeks, guides them on a journey to overcome their difficulties. The individual programmes are science-based and contain interactive elements that are fun and engaging for the user. The client also receives support from an e-therapist once a week. The programmes also focus on preventing the onset of mental health problems in people who are experiencing high levels of stress or have a history of mental health problems.
The Mindwalk app was jointly developed by Professor Ján Praško, Jelena Holomany and their collaborators. Professor Ján Praško is a leading Czech psychiatrist and psychotherapist. He is currently the Head of the Department of Psychotherapy at IPVZ and also holds the position of the President of the Czech Psychotherapy Society. He is the author of many books and manuals on psychology and mental illness. Jelena Holomany studied for ten years in London, where similar applications are common. They are offered to students and staff for mental health support and as a tool for coping with mental health problems. These include excessive stress, anxiety of various types, obsessions, depressive states or helplessness in everyday life or in coping with physical illness. "There is no similar solution in the Czech Republic, so I decided to create a platform that would offer these services. The aim of the platform is to make scientifically proven e-therapeutic practices available to people who need them," Jelena Holomany comments on Mindwalk's mission.
"Waiting times for psychotherapy are long, and e-therapy programs can help a range of clients who are experiencing excessive stress or struggling with mild to moderate psychological problems. We also plan to create short programmes based on positive psychology. These focus on developing feelings of well-being and happiness or meaningfulness in life. We believe that self-development is an important part of mental health," says Professor Praško, adding that the digitisation of psychotherapy makes scientifically based interventions easily accessible.
AKESO Holding is a strategic partner of Mindwalk. At the newly built Centre for Mental Rehabilitation (CDR) in Beroun, Mindwalk will be the digital component of the therapy programmes. The purpose of building the CDR is to fill a gap in patient care not only at the regional level, where acute patients are the main focus, but also at the national level, which will address a group of patients for whom we lack well-developed specialized care. The CDR will offer a broad spectrum of psychiatric care, in a comfortable environment and using state-of-the-art procedures and expertise.
The centre will have an area of 27,500 m2, an approximate capacity of 200 beds, its own theatre, a 25-metre swimming pool, sauna, multifunctional hall, enclosed sports hall or climbing wall. For the greatest comfort of patients and their families, there will also be fully equipped, modern apartments and a large underground car park. One of the many above-standard amenities will be a daylight simulation system, which can significantly contribute to improving a patient's mental health.
"We can heal the body quite well, but it is worse with the soul. The construction of the Centre will allow us to offer psychiatric and psychological care to people who are struggling with mental difficulties, which are rapidly increasing. I hope that our facility will perhaps become an inspiration for young people to take an interest in studying psychiatry and psychology. If they choose to do so, they can expect our support. For example, in the form of the scholarship programme that we offer in our medical facilities," says Sotirios Zavalianis, owner of AKESO Holding.
The linking of psychotherapy programmes at CDR and Mindwalk increases the quality and accessibility of medical care. CDR patients will be able to use the Mindwalk app as a complement to psychotherapeutic and pharmacotherapeutic treatment during hospitalization or outpatient visits to CDR, but also after leaving the clinic as part of maintaining good mental health and preventing the return of problems. Therefore, the programmes also focus on preventing further hospitalisations, reducing the patient's self-stigma and the stigma of the patient's family, and improving cooperation with clients at all levels of psychiatric and psychotherapeutic care. Research on the effectiveness of these programmes will also be continuously conducted.
