Glimp

The challenge

When a policeman wakes up, he never knows what he is going to face today. Just an ordinary day can turn out to a horrifying scene in a glimpse. Such traumatic experiences often result in troubled memories which can affect the mental health and emotional stability of policemen. On yearly basis this results in 200+ policemen who can’t operate because they suffer from PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder). Our product aims to help these people cope with this disease and improve the existing treatment procedures.

The solution

There is currently one main method for cooping with PTSD; Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR). A widely recognised psychotherapy designed for alleviating the distress associated with traumatic memories (Shapiro, 1989). This relatively new and promising therapy has been found to relieve stress in a wide range of applications. ‘Glimpse’ will form an addition to the currently existing EMDR therapy by the use of a supplementary self-administered device. The device will be provided to the client to be used at home. It will guide the user through pre-determined ‘think exercises’ co-created together with an EMDR-therapist. This can help the client in the early stages of the 'wet poortwachter' procedure, and can speed up the overall healing process.