Frequently asked questions

Once we have finished Phase I of the development (Spring 2021) and we can add the information of the evaluation instrument in the platform. From then on, it will be allowed to use a pilot (or alpha) version of the instrument and to receive feedback from professionals. From then on, it will be allowed to use a pilot (or alpha) version of the instrument and to receive feedback from professionals.

initially, you won’t be required to pay to use the platform on its alpha version (that is, the version not empirically validated) of the evaluation instrument. Our goal is to receive feedback. At the end of phase II of development, and once the new functionalities have been implemented on the platform, a subscription payment system will be activated for those users who want to continue using it. At the end of phase II of development, and once the new functionalities have been implemented on the platform, a subscription payment system will be activated for those users who want to continue using it.

The objective of this subscription will also be to finance the main research of the evaluation instrument platform and to maintain the expenses of the platform.

The platform is designed to assist and guide mental health professionals, primarily including psychologists and psychiatrists with patients. However, the evaluation functionalities presented by the platform can also be of help to other health professionals working in the field of mental health.

To access it, effectively you must be registered and present the registration number and other professional information during registration.. This measure is important to ensure the correct use of the assessment instrument by mental health professionals.

The Psiconexia app is a platform focused on offering new tools to improve psychological evaluation through new technologies. Specifically, this platform will allow the free creation of online mental health assessment tests, will allow you to have a digitized history of your patients and access all the information from any device.

On the other hand, the psychopathological risk assessment instrument (Psiconexia Predict) is a practical example of a type of test that can be developed within the platform. It is an evaluation tool that users will find within Psiconexia, to be used by all mental health professionals.

Psiconexia is a multi-device on-line platform: therefore, you can use it from any computer, mobile or tablet: the only requirement is that they have an updated browser (Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari or Microsoft Edge).

Both phases refer to different objectives that Psiconexia plans to carry out in the short and medium term. Each phase involves a process of design, development and implementation of changes to the platform, which we would like to share from the beginning with our entire community.

In Phase I, the first alpha (or pilot) version of the Psiconexia platform and the psychopathological risk assessment instrument (Psiconexia Predict) within it are developed. This first phase will allow us to receive very valuable feedback from mental health professionals, and make the appropriate modifications.

In Phase II, new functionalities of the platform will be developed for mental health professionals: for example, they will be able to create their own evaluations, personalized by each patient, and reuse them as many times as they wish.

Yes. Both the website Psiconexia.com and the application Psiconexia.app that we are developing guarantee compliance with current regulations on the protection of personal data, reflected in Organic Law 3/2018, of December 5, on the Protection of Personal Data and of Digital Rights Guarantee (LOPD GDD). It also complies with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 27, 2016 on the protection of natural persons (RGPD).

In summary, this implies that:

• We will never obtain any data from you without your consent
• You always have information about who is responsible for the data, the purpose of collection, the legitimation, where they will be stored and the rights you have as a user regarding your data on the Privacy Policy and data protection page.
• We are committed to using your data in a secure and confidential way

In addition to the efforts we make to maintain the security of our servers, in the case of the Psiconexia application, all the most sensitive data (DNIs, association numbers, data of your patients, etc.) will arrive at our database encrypted. This implies that not even us, nor a hacker who managed to enter, could access your personal data or that of your patients. For this, our developers are going to use the BCRYPT package, the only one that has not been hacked to date.

As previously discussed, Phase II will allow mental health professionals to create their own assessments, customized for each patient, and reuse them as many times as they like.
We propose some examples and ideas that we have in mind. Can you imagine digitally creating and adapting your own tests, first personalized interviews and anamnesis? Can you imagine creating a family genogram or customizable functional analysis for each patient simply and quickly? Or have digital self-records so that the patient can answer between sessions and get the results instantly? Or even develop any type of “ecological momentary assessment tests”, session diaries, or other types of evaluation tests that allow an immediate connection between patient and therapist, in addition to monitoring the results? Imagine the interesting possibilities that this type of digital evaluation would offer in the field of evaluation in adult and child-youth mental health!

We are excited, you can tell, right?

Early detection of mental health problems is key.

We believe that it is essential that professionals working in the field of mental health have a very complete, fast, efficient and simple tool to use, in order to correctly detect mental health problems in their patients, and at the same time, classify the level of risk they present.

This tool can be very useful in mental health centers or clinics with a high number of patients. For example, considerably reducing the time and resources required by traditional evaluation, and, therefore, allocating these resources in a better analysis of the results obtained after the on-line evaluation.

No, this evaluation instrument has been created by the authors of Psiconexia. For this reason, empirical validation studies are necessary to assess its validity and reliability, among other psychometric properties.

The assessment instrument has two main tools: an initial interview and a psychopathological risk interview, with a version for adults and for children / teenagers.

Initial interview: we ask for different questions about the reason for the consultation and the history of the problem. Where you will be asked different questions related to the problem for which you come to the consultation and that have been previously mentioned.

The psychopathological risk interview has the adult version and another version for children and adolescents. Each version has a series of modules (that evaluate different mental health problems). These modules contain a series of questions, which, at the same time, contain examples and clarifications.

No, this evaluation instrument only allows establishing the level of psychopathological risk in low, medium or high of the modules that have been evaluated. We consider it to be a tool that has the potential to be as complete as other psychopathological evaluation tests, such as the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview – MINI, even providing examples and clarifications on each question.

Despite this, we are firmly convinced that the results (eg, a high psychopathological risk) cannot constitute a diagnosis, but a first examination. It is recommended to contrast the information collected here with other available sources of information, for example, other informants, a clinical interview, medical history, medical tests, studying the observed behavior, as well as other tests or questionnaires specialized in the problems evaluated and in other important areas.

The answer to this question will depend largely on the development process in Phase I, and on the pilot studies or larger studies that are carried out afterwards. Therefore, the following procedure corresponds only to the first pilot phase, with the aim of receiving a first feedback on the content and usefulness of the instrument.

Our initial idea is that, to begin with, the professional will offer the patient to answer the initial interview first with questions about the reason for the consultation and the history of the problem. Before completing this module, the patient will also be asked about a series of symptoms that may or may not be related to the problem they are consulting about.

Once this first module has been answered, from the platform the professional will be recommended to evaluate the corresponding psychopathological modules of the adult version or the child-youth version. However, the professional will also have the option of choosing to evaluate one or several modules individually. Finally, the results of both the initial interview and the psychopathological risk interview will be summarized in a final report, and will be kept in the professional’s history.

The interpretation of symptoms is based on guidelines and criteria commonly used in clinical practice and in the evaluation of mental disorders. Specifically, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, DSM-5.

Despite this, we repeat, the goal of this instrument is not to make a diagnosis, but to establish the level of psychopathological risk.

The main idea is that it is an interview format, and therefore that the professional asks the patient. Despite this, we are still evaluating which is the most appropriate and efficient format to use in the evaluation. There is also the possibility of making a mixed format; that is, there are self-reported questions by the patient and other questions that the professional must evaluate.

We are sorry, but this full version of the assessment tool can only be used by professionals. The main reason is that its content is intended to be used and interpreted, in part or in its entirety, by mental health professionals, since they have the training and preparation necessary to carry out the evaluation correctly.

The good news is that our long-term goal is to develop a simpler screening instrument that can be used by anyone, and aims to connect people and mental health professionals.

This is a question that any of us could ask ourselves, especially if we are not mental health professionals. How do we explain in one of the articles that we have published, if we asked any reader who is visiting this page, if they have or know someone close to them who has had a mental health problem, they would surely answer yes, and they would even tell us that they know more than one person. Therefore, the most appropriate answer would be through another question: Who can benefit in the medium and long term from developing this type of assessment instrument using new technologies? Providing a tool that allows early detection, and correctly classifying psychopathological risk, may be essential for its correct therapeutic approach and for having a better long-term prognosis. For this, new technologies offer us a unique opportunity so that we can make this assessment tool much more accessible to the entire population.

If you have considered helping us, in the first place, we can only thank you, so THANK YOU VERY MUCH from the entire team. If you like the project and want to give us a hand, you can help us in different ways:

Though a donation via PayPal. We are convinced that this is a very interesting idea that can help many people. However, we need your help, to continue improving the platform, and to be able to carry out the pilot studies to validate the evaluation instrument. For this, we accept any type of economic donation through this website (through Paypal), or subscription to Patreon.

Sharing, sharing and more sharing. Currently we do not have too much free time, nor financial resources to carry out large dissemination campaigns, so your help to publicize the project through social networks, and / or by sharing the publications that we can make, is essential for us to be able to reaching as many people as possible. We therefore encourage you to have a coffee or other drink with someone you know (family, partner, friends, acquaintances, etc.), and explain the idea, the research project and the possibilities it can offer.

Walkers make their way by walking, and also learn by the way. Share with us your opinion about the platform and the research, the aspects that you liked and the ones that you would improve.

We are always always open to new ideas, and your personal experience is a treasure for us, from which we can learn a great deal and enrich both the platform and the evaluation instrument. So do not hesitate to write to us if you have questions, suggestions or simply want to share with us your opinion or experience in the field of mental health and new technologies.

Of course, in the long term, and once this more complete version of the evaluation instrument has been validated, we would like to create a simpler and reduced version of this instrument, which could be answered by anyone.

Specifically, this version of fast screening would have the main function of guiding the person towards the most appropriate mental health professional, depending on the type of problem reported. In addition, despite the fact that we now guide the use of the platform to mental health professionals, we do not rule out in the future that there are new features to improve the prevention and promotion of mental health in anyone.

Pilot studies are a type of preliminary research study that is conducted before the actual study. Pilot studies are normally carried out following the same steps intended for the actual study, but on a smaller scale.

Its objective is to detect possible failures or problems in the study. Although a pilot study cannot eliminate all systematic errors or unexpected problems, it reduces the probability of errors that would make research a waste of effort, time, and money.