Sperantia.App, a free app for personalized psychological support.

Mental health care is a major challenge we face as a society. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted many of the psychological difficulties that numerous people face daily (anxiety, depression, fatigue, stress, etc.) and the importance of addressing them properly to reduce suffering and distress.

In this context, Sperantia.App emerged—a free mobile and web application conceived and designed by researchers in psychology, engineering, and physiotherapy at the Comillas Pontifical University to provide personalized psychological guidance and make it easier for people to seek psychological help when needed. Sperantia.App represents an innovation in mental health care and a first step toward change. It is an innovative application because it not only allows us to self-assess to determine our psychological state, but also, once the questions are answered, provides immediate and accessible psychological guidance developed by experts in clinical psychology and physiotherapy, tailored to our individual situation. Furthermore, if a risk of emotional distress is detected, Sperantia.App facilitates the search for help.

Things you can do to feel better

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Sperantia.App is very easy to use. To access it, the first thing you need to do is download it completely free of charge to your mobile device or access it through the website . Next, you'll need to register in the application with a username and email address. Confidentiality is guaranteed throughout this process. Finally, you'll need to log in with the username and password you created. At this point, you can enter the application, where you'll find a menu that includes the following sections:

• Get to know yourself: In this section, you'll find questions about your mood, sleep habits, personality, social, work, and family situation, and physical health. All the questions come from questionnaires that have been scientifically proven to accurately assess these aspects. You'll answer the questions so the app can build your profile and provide personalized information. Because this personalization requires a significant amount of information, there are many questions. Therefore, it's important to note that you don't need to answer them all at once; you can answer them at different times and complete them at your own pace.
• My profile: This section provides a summary of the results you answered to the questions in the previous section (mood, personality, etc.). This is not a diagnosis, as that should be done by a qualified professional; it is a brief summary to help you better understand how you feel.
• Guidance: This is a crucial section of Sperantia.App , and what makes it so useful and innovative. As you answer the questions in the "Get to Know Yourself" section, tailored guidance appears here. For example, if someone feels nervous or stressed, they will receive guidance on how to manage it, and if they are very sad, on how to improve their energy level and mood. Furthermore, if it is detected that the person is at risk of experiencing a problem that requires specialized attention, the first guidance they will receive is the advisability and importance of seeking help from a mental health professional.
• Seeking help: In this section, users will find a list of healthcare services they can access for assistance. Some resources are nationwide, while others are located in the Community of Madrid, where Sperantia.App originated. However, the list of resources is constantly expanding, incorporating new partner organizations in various regions. Furthermore, this section also allows users to generate a one-time report code. Providing this code to a mental health professional registered with Sperantia.App will enable them to download the user's complete report, compiled from their responses. It is important to note that registering as a professional on the app is completely free, facilitating the initiation of treatment. Any practicing mental health professional can register, regardless of their Autonomous Community. This professional status is monitored and verified by the Sperantia.App team.

An app for groups particularly impacted by the pandemic

Just as we take our temperature or blood pressure when we feel ill, checking our psychological state can be very helpful when we experience emotional distress. This allows us to get to know ourselves better and realize if we need to seek professional help. Therefore, Sperantia.App can be used by anyone. However, when developing it, its creators had the following groups of people in mind:

• General population over 16 years of age who may be experiencing psychological distress. Anyone 16 or older can use it personally. If you are concerned about your mental health (for example, if you feel sad, down, anxious, have trouble sleeping, etc.) , Sperantia.App can help you discover what's happening to you, give you guidance on how to feel better, and help you find help if needed.
• Healthcare professionals . Healthcare professionals have been among the groups most impacted by the pandemic in terms of their mental health. Therefore, and with the aim of supporting this essential group, Sperantia.App offers specific questions and guidance.
• Parents with children up to 16 years old . Families today face numerous psychological challenges. Therefore, Sperantia.App offers a section where parents can register their children or dependents and answer questions about the child's psychological state, their relationship with them, and their health. This will provide valuable information and allow parents to receive guidance on how to address their child's situation.
• People who have recently lost a loved one . Given that this is such a difficult and common situation, at Sperantia.App we have included specific guidelines for taking care of ourselves during these delicate times.

A project with broad institutional support

The support of numerous prestigious healthcare institutions validates its usefulness and relevance. Sperantia.App has received a favorable report from the Ethics Committee of the San Carlos Clinical Hospital (Madrid) and the support of the Official College of Psychologists of Madrid, the Red Cross Listens, the Acrescere Foundation, the Telephone of Hope and Recurra-GINSO, the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God, the Psychological Care Service of the Cardenal Cisneros University Center, the Spanish Institute of Resilience, and the UNINPSI Clinical Psychology Unit of the Comillas Pontifical University. Currently, the Sperantia.App team continues working to garner support for this initiative from even more organizations, so that we can help as many people as possible.