Pepper: The socially assistive robot – acceptance and effectiveness by psychiatric inpatients with bipolar disorder – a project description

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a severe and chronic mood disorder characterized by episodic, recurrent pathological disturbance in mood ranging from extreme elation to severe depression. It is an illness with a high degree of disability and premature mortality and usually accompanied by disturbances in thinking and behavior. Psychopharmacotherapy, psychotherapeutic treatment, psychoeducation and relaxation techniques, as well as occupational, sports, and nutritional therapy, should all be part of a multimodal treatment plan for psychiatric disorders. The ongoing digitization comes with many changes and opportunities that need to be adequately addressed, as they are having a longlasting impact on our daytoday lives. As digital technologies such as robots, virtual or extended reality are becoming increasingly omnipresent in our modern world, new technologies should be looked at as an additional therapy option for psychiatric disorders. "Pepper," a socially assistive robot (SAR), can be used in a clinical setting alongside as an additional therapy tool. There is currently no research evaluating the use of the SAR "Pepper" for bipolar disorder patients in a clinical psychiatric setting.