The platoniq.health team: Daniel Stachnik, Lara Sachs and Silvan Hornstein
How did you personally come to this topic?
My interest in this topic is based on scientific and intellectual grounds. I am fascinated by evolutionary psychology—that is, the question of how our evolutionary origins continue to shape our behavior and experiences today. A key insight here is the outstanding importance of social relationships in human history. The question of how this can be used in mental health care has been on my mind for a long time.
Another inspiration was my friend Bolu, who moved from Nigeria to Berlin during the first coronavirus lockdown and struggled greatly in the process. This touched me deeply and reminded me of my own, admittedly much less traumatic but nonetheless formative experience of moving to Berlin at the age of 18 without really knowing anyone.
What has been the biggest challenge for you in this project so far?
Implementing a project that combines research, economic efficiency, and patient benefits is undoubtedly very challenging, as it requires balancing so many different interests and goals. But I am glad to have almost overcome one particularly big challenge, namely finding inspiring colleagues. With Lara Sachs and Daniel Stachnik, there are now three of us working together. Lara supports my very scientific-psychological approach with her economic expertise, and Daniel, as a software developer, is building our intervention in app format.