Thoughtfile, the digital platform that helps therapists engage with and empower their patients between sessions, is one to watch in the Ideator community.

Dr. Martin Dragan, a practicing psychotherapist and CEO of Thoughtfile, understands that client engagement was a key contributor to improving outcomes in his patients. But client engagement is often the aspect lacking in standard practice in the first place.

Identifying this gap in the therapeutic process, he determined that he could use tools to support and engage clients in-between sessions to improve the likelihood of his patients completing assigned tasks, stay focused on goals, and altogether make progress. Thus, Thoughtfile was born.

This web-based platform acts as a support tool for clients in between sessions, as it outlines their assigned homework, resources, as well as session notes so they have a clear overview of what they need to do and how to get there.

It addresses the 3 main pain points for patients:
1. Patients struggle to keep track of insights, discoveries, and homework from previous sessions
2. Patients don’t often feel accountable for completing their assigned homework/tasks in between therapy sessions
3. Patients don’t have access to resources that can help them complete their homework

Thoughtfile provides a personalized space for patients and their therapists to:
– Review summaries or notes from previous therapy sessions
– Journal and draft their own personal notes
– Keep track of current and ongoing homework
– Collaborate on creating personalized strategies to make therapy meaningful
– Access resources specific to the patient’s needs
– Plan and schedule subsequent therapy sessions
– Engage in ongoing communication through instant messaging

Thoughtfile’s team has surely grown since its inception. Dr. Martin Dragan Chief Executive Officer has been joined by Kate Petriw (Chief Operating Officer), Albert Jin (Chief Research Officer), Anton Livaja (Chief Technical Officer), Betty Zhang (Director of Design), and Catherine Wood (Director of User Experience).

What has been the biggest challenge in developing their idea? We sat down with Kate Petriw, the Chief Operating Officer for Thoughtfile, to hear about the hurdle they faced and how they overcame it:

“The information exchanged between patients and therapists is obviously extremely confidential, and one of our biggest challenges is ensuring everything is encrypted and that our data is tightly secured. We’ve overcome this by seeking expert advice, and building our platform accordingly.”

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Where does the team see Thoughtfile in the future?

“We see ourselves as a key tool that can be used by psychotherapists, psychologists, counsellors and other mental health practitioners alike in community practice and/or hospitals. Using Thoughtfile truly benefits both the client and therapist, as it helps both parties visualize and track progress as well as develop personalized strategies to empower client success. For the client, therapist, and the healthcare system as a whole, Thoughtfile delivers financial returns by improving client experience, increasing client retention and subsequently preventing drop-outs.

Ideator has helped us push our idea further. By having all of our work on a community platform, it forces us to really articulate the key benefits of the product so that people understand how it works, and how it can really help both clients and therapists.” explained Kate.

They are seeking another developer to join their team: a Ruby on Rails developer with a great understanding of the MVC relationship who enjoys working on back-end logic. Familiarity with devise and bcrypt is desirable. If you are interested in improving our mental health system or know someone who is, please let them know by connecting with them! Sign in and request access here.

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