SlowMo app helps patients with psychosis manage their health

London – SlowMo is a digital therapy app designed to help treat patients with psychosis. In development for over a decade by Special Projects and King’s College London, SlowMo supports in-person sessions with a therapist. Patients are also encouraged to use it to track their health and access it when they feel a psychotic episode begin. SlowMo contains guided therapy sessions, educational videos, interactive activities and a progress roadmap that allows people with psychosis to observe their worries in spinning grey bubbles. Safer thoughts then appear in coloured bubbles aiming to shift the patient to a healthier thought pattern.

Unlike other health apps SlowMo must be offered through the NHS, can only be downloaded as part of a therapy programme and requires pre-approved access from a healthcare provider. The ultimate aim of the app is that a patient can eventually live healthily without it. ‘‘Success means the user will not need it any more’ was a new concept for [us],’ says Special Projects co-founder and director of technology Adrian Westaway.