The Science behind platoniq

"Loneliness kills. It is just as harmful as smoking or alcoholism."

Robert Waldinger, Director Harvard Study of Adult Development

Why we do what we do

This quote from the Harvard researcher and director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development summarizes a core insight of psychology: relationships are not a 'side issue' but one of the most central dimensions of our well-being. Relationships literally extend our lives, while loneliness makes us ill. At the same time, more than 10 million people in Germany wish for closer relationships.

Young adults relaxing under a beach umbrella, talking and laughing – a symbol of close friendship and social connection.
1 out of 3
29%
2x
adults feels lonely regularly.
increased risk for cardiovascular diseases.
increased risk of developing depression.

Fortunately, there are well-researched and evidence-based approaches to feeling less lonely and improving the ability to build strong friendships. Techniques from psychology offer immediate help, with their effectiveness proven in hundreds of studies. In fact, psychological interventions — those that focus on one's own relationship skills and do not primarily aim at meeting new people — have demonstrably shown particularly good and sustainable success.

The Problem: Social health is an underserved area

For physical health, there's a gym. But how do you strengthen social health? Unfortunately, the effective methods we mentioned are barely available. Currently, there are almost no preventive services in the German healthcare system aimed at strengthening relationships and combating loneliness. Instead, intervention often only occurs after consequential illnesses have already developed.

Our Contribution: Translating research into everyday life

This is exactly what we want to change. Our goal is to make social health a priority and to help millions of affected individuals achieve a healthy and happy life.
To achieve this, we translate research findings directly into applications suitable for everyday life and work closely with leading academic institutions:
  • Scientific Publication: Our approach has been published in the renowned professional journal Verhaltenstherapie und soziale Praxis.
  • Evaluation: Together with the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, we are currently evaluating our application in a study. The study design can be viewed on the BfARMS website
We are grateful for our strong academic partners who share our mission and support us. If you are interested in using our application or in scientific collaborations, please feel free to contact us at any time at kontakt@platoniq.health.

Ready to overcome your loneliness?

Loneliness doesn’t just disappear on its own. It begins to dissolve when you start truly understanding yourself and others.

In the platoniq 6 weeks-course, you’ll learn: how closeness develops, how to break old patterns, and how to build relationships that last.

You don’t need any prior knowledge, just the willingness to grow, step by step.

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Developed by psychologists