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MindMentor in the press
Many articles on the internet
There are numerous references to MindMentor on the internet.
Many papers, magazines and on line publications have produced articles on MindMentor.
Search Google with key word 'MindMentor' or key word 'Robot Psychologist'
Try before you... write
It has been surprising to us, how many journalists have written about MindMentor (often quite favorably) without ever working with him. Although we are thankful for the recommendations, we do suggest that you do at least one session when you write an article on MindMentor.
Interviews
Drs. Hollander is available for interviews either live or on Skype.
Press releases
In this section we will archive any English language press releases.
Press release March 2008
The Netherlands
March 3, 2008
Two clinical psychologists associated with the Institute for Eclectic Psychology in Holland, Jaap Hollander and Jeffrey Wijnberg, have developed the first robot psychologist, named 'MindMentor'. MindMentor is an on line computer program that helps people solve problems and achieve goals. It has the unique quality, as compared with other on line psychological help systems, of requiring no live human intervention and being completely automated. Said Hollander in an interview with a Dutch radio program"What made this whole endeavour exciting, was that we suddenly saw a possibility to create an unlimited amount of psychological help"¯ Several Dutch media have reported on this new form of mental health care. Said Daphne van Dijk , in an article in national Dutch newspaper 'The Telegraph': "While many people would certainly like speak to an independent person and receive some practical advice on how to solve their personal problems, to seek help from a psychologist is quite a big step. The RoboCoach, the first robot psychologist that speaks to people on line, could change all that" ¯Guido Castagna, reporting for daily newspaper 'Spits', noted after trying out MindMentor for himself"For close to an hour, MindMentor and his colleagues keep me very busy. I am shown colored pictures of abstract figures, I am asked to relive situations and I am cheerily debunked by ProvoBot who claims my problem is unsolvable. In the beginning I still agree with him, but when he shows up again later in the session, I just laugh at him and point him out the virtual door. Then the amazement hits me: is this really going to work? The solution to my problem is in sight" ¯
Some psychologists have responded positively to their robot colleague, while some have reacted with great scepticism. Said David Van Nuys, Ph.D. (Emeritus Professor of Psychology Sonoma State University)"At the end of the hour-long session, I have to say my outlook and spirits were lifted considerably. It was smart, supportive, fun, and funny and helped me to focus in on the central issue. I find the blend of artificial intelligence, NLP, and other goal-directed therapeutic techniques effective" But some other of Hollander and Wijnberg's colleagues have responded with deep scepticism, especially being concerned that MindMentor will not be able to handle severe psychological disorders. Said Hollander in an interview in Dutch national newspaper 'Trouw'"People with severe psychological problems, like bipolar disorders, hard drug addictions or disabling phobias , still need help from live professionals. For them, MindMentor may be an interesting adjunct but never a replacement of live treatment" Dutch psychology professor Alfred Lange, interviewed by Dutch television, stated that "There is no danger whatsoever in using MindMentor" The robot psychologist will never be able to completely replace his flesh and blood colleagues, because he lacks two important human qualities: he cannot respond to nonverbal cues and he does not have much creativity. Although Hollander and Wijnberg do have plans to eventually make communication available in a most discreet and protected manner - between different MindMentor users. If a MindMentor client from, say, New York has solved a certain problem for 40% and MindMentor knows that someone in, say, Kuala Lumpur has solved a similar problem for 90%, he might discreetly put the New York client into contact with the Kuala Lumpur client, so they can exchange their problem solving strategies.
How effective is the robot psychologist? Hollander, interviewed by a Dutch radio program , explained"We did some research into the effectiveness of this system in 2006. We had a much more primitive version then, and with that we performed a test-run with 1600 clients from all over the world. Our data show that MindMentor was able to solve the problems for 47% in just one session. When people were asked afterwards to what extent they had solved the problem with the help of the robot psychologist, 100% meaning totally solved and 0% meaning absolutely no change, the average result was 47%. We believe that this is a success percentage that any real life psychologist would be satisfied with, especially given the fact that this was after just one session"
Contact information
MindMentor: www.mindmentor.com
Drs. Jaap Hollander
Institute for Eclectic Psychology
E-mail: jh@iepdoc.nl
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