KINDsynce

Stronger relationships, backed by science

The Challenge

Half of all mental health clients seek counselling for relationship issues, yet accessible, personalised, and evidence-based support remains scarce. Existing options can be costly, inconvenient, and fail to meet couples' unique needs. Meanwhile, therapists receive minimal training in couple therapy, and the field lacks cohesive assessments, reducing treatment effectiveness and sometimes leading to harmful outcomes.

The Solution

A comprehensive relationship-assessment and clinical insight platform has been developed following a decade-long investigation into the scientific foundations of couple relationship well-being.

This work draws on more than 35,000 research studies, synthesised as part of Dr Jennifer Gold’s PhD research at AUT. The scale of this synthesis, spanning attachment, communication, emotional regulation, conflict behaviour, belief systems, and dyadic functioning, is unprecedented in the field and has resulted in a truly evidence-grounded framework for understanding, supporting, and strengthening intimate relationships.

The resulting online assessment tool was launched in early 2025 and provides couples with a holistic, research-based diagnostic of their relationship strengths and vulnerabilities. However, this marks only the first stage of a broader, multi-layer innovation programme currently underway through KINDsynce (pronounced Kind-Science).

Upcoming developments include:

• AI-facilitated therapist matching: Building on both the assessment insights and internationally validated matching methodology KINDsynce is integrating with a system that uses AI to connect clients with therapists based on relational wellbeing profiles. This aims to ensure more accurate treatment matching, reduce drop-out, and improve long-term outcomes for couples seeking support.
• AI-Enhanced Clinical Support Tools: A suite of AI resources is being developed to support clients and therapists, including evidence-based support, personalised homework recommendations for couples, between-session tracking of emotional health, session planning, case-conceptualisation assistance, a client dashboard where they can track their diagnosis and improvements, and a clinical dashboard enabling practitioners to monitor client stability and progress over time.
• Therapist Education & Professional Training: Specialist training for couple-therapy practitioners is being developed, delivered through AI workshops and guided learning modules. These programmes distil the findings from the study synthesis into practical, teachable frameworks that enhance clinical confidence, reduce therapist isolation, and raise standards across the sector.
• National Therapist Network Integration: KINDsynce is also partnering with clinicians across New Zealand to build the country’s first research-informed therapist network, supporting practitioners with access to current scientific evidence, AI-augmented tools, and improved referral pathways for clients.

Together, these developments aim to create an integrated ecosystem that supports couples, empowers therapists, and brings scientifically grounded insights into everyday relationship practice.

Our Contribution

The development and early-stage commercialisation of this science-backed relationship assessment tool has been supported by funding from AUT Ventures and KiwiNet.

From assessing the commercial viability to advising on intellectual property, coordinating industry connections, and executing contracts, AUT Ventures supported the team to use their research for real-world impact.

For more details, please contact AUT Ventures.