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title Quickstart
description Get up and running with Pixelated Empathy in minutes — whether you're a therapist, supervisor, institution, or developer.

⚡ Choose Your Path

Start practicing

AI clients with real-time feedback on your therapeutic skills. Perfect for clinical skill development.

Manage Training

Set up organizations, invite trainees, and configure custom training programs.

Build & Integrate

Clone the repo, install dependencies, and spin up the full platform locally.

🧠 For Therapists & Counselors

Get from sign-up to your first AI training session in under five minutes.

Navigate to pixelatedempathy.com and click Get Started.

What you'll need

  • 📧 Email or institutional SSO
  • 🏷️ Professional role (therapist, counselor, psychologist, student)
  • 📊 Years of clinical experience
  • 🎯 Areas of specialization (optional)

If your organization has already set up Pixelated Empathy, ask your admin for an invitation link — it auto-connects you to your institution's training program.

Calibrate training scenarios to your experience level:

  1. Select training focus — Crisis intervention, trauma-informed care, motivational interviewing, couples therapy, substance abuse
  2. Set difficulty — Beginner (guided) → Master (complex, multi-issue)
  3. Choose feedback — Real-time, post-session, or both

Update anytime via Settings → Clinical Profile. The platform adapts as you grow.

Click Enter The Empathy Gym™ from your dashboard:

  1. Pick a scenario — Anxiety, depression, trauma, crisis, personality disorders
  2. Review client profile — Emotional baseline, personality traits, triggers, goals
  3. Start the conversation — Text or voice. AI client adapts dynamically.

⚠️ Crisis scenarios include sensitive content with built-in safety protocols. You can skip or adjust content preferences.

Get a comprehensive post-session report:

Metric Description
🧡 Empathy Score Emotional attunement (0.0–1.0)
🔧 Technique Analysis CBT, DBT, MI, psychodynamic usage
🛡️ Bias Check Demographic bias pattern detection
🚨 Crisis Response Crisis signal identification speed
🤝 Therapeutic Alliance Rapport strength (task, bond, goals)
📈 Skill Progression Historical performance comparison

Click any metric to see specific examples from the conversation + evidence-based improvement suggestions.

👁️ For Supervisors & Institutions

Set up your organization's training environment and monitor trainee progress.

Contact enterprise@pixelatedempathy.com or visit the Enterprise Portal.

Required

  • 🏢 Organization name & type
  • 👥 Estimated trainee count
  • 📋 Compliance requirements (HIPAA, FERPA, IRB)
  • 🔐 SSO/identity provider details (if applicable)

You'll receive admin credentials + access to the Supervisor Dashboard.

Organize by class year, specialization, or rotation. Each cohort gets:

  • Required scenario sequence
  • Competency benchmarks
  • Assessment frequency
  • Difficulty levels

Path: Dashboard → Cohorts → Create New Cohort

Built-in programs

  • Basic Therapeutic Skills — 5 progressive sessions for beginners
  • Crisis Intervention Specialist — 8 complex scenarios for experienced clinicians
  • Custom Pathway — Define your own sequence

Path: Dashboard → Training Programs → Assign to Cohort

Minimum levels across 8 core skills:

Skill Description Levels
Rapport Building Connection & alliance 1-5
Active Listening Understanding & reflection 1-5
Empathy Demonstration Emotional attunement 1-5
Crisis Management Safety assessment 1-5
Resistance Handling Therapeutic resistance 1-5
Boundary Setting Professional limits 1-5
Therapeutic Confrontation Appropriate challenging 1-5
Cultural Competence Diverse backgrounds 1-5
  1. Dashboard → Cohorts → [Cohort Name] → Members
  2. Click Invite Members
  3. Enter emails or upload CSV
  4. Select role & training pathway
  5. Send invitations

Trainees auto-enroll upon registration.

Real-time visibility into performance:

  • 👁️ Live Observation — Watch sessions with competency overlay
  • 🚨 Intervention Alerts — Notifications for skill deficits
  • 📊 Progress Reports — Analytics, patterns, breakthroughs
  • 📋 Development Plans — Personalized growth recommendations

All data is encrypted & access-controlled. See Compliance & Security.

💻 For Developers

Set up the full platform locally for development and contribution.

Prerequisites: Node.js 19+ • Python 3.11+ • pnpm • MongoDB • Redis • Docker (optional)

git clone <https://github.com/pixelatedempathy/pixelated-empathy.git>
cd pixelated-empathy

# Frontend
pnpm install

## Python AI/ML
cd ai-services
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
cd ..

cp .env.example .env

``` text


Key variables:


```bash

## Database
MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/pixelated-empathy
REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379

## AI Services
TOGETHER_API_KEY=your_together_api_key
FINE_TUNED_THERAPEUTIC_MODEL=meta-llama-3-8b-instruct

## Auth
AUTH_SECRET=your_auth_secret_here

Never commit .env to version control!

## Full stack
pnpm dev

## Or with AI services (separate terminal)
cd ai-services
source .venv/bin/activate
python -m uvicorn main:app --reload --port 8000

🌐 Astro: http://localhost:4321

## Unit & integration
pnpm test

## E2E
pnpm test:e2e

## Python AI
cd ai-services
python -m pytest

🔧 Developer Quick Reference


pixelated-empathy/
├── src/                    # Astro + React frontend
│   ├── components/          # Dashboard, simulator, etc.
│   ├── pages/              # Astro pages & API routes
│   ├── lib/                # AI services, auth, API clients
│   ├── simulator/           # Empathy Gym™ engine
│   └── hooks/              # React hooks
├── ai-services/            # Python AI/ML microservices
├── ai/                     # Training pipelines & models
├── docs/                  # This documentation (Astro Starlight)
└── tests/                 # Test suites
Command Description
pnpm dev Start dev server
pnpm build Production build
pnpm preview Preview build
pnpm test Vitest tests
pnpm test:e2e Playwright E2E
pnpm lint ESLint + Prettier
pnpm typecheck TypeScript 
## Full containerized environment
docker compose up --build

``` text


Available at **<http://localhost:4321>**


```bash

## Tests in Docker
docker compose exec app pnpm test
docker compose exec ai-services python -m pytest

🎉 Next Steps

Understand EARS framework, Plutchik's Wheel, Big Five personality model, and scoring systems.

6 client personality types, difficulty levels, and competency assessments.

Deep dive into feedback reports, metrics, and clinical improvements.

Extended docs: database seeding, mock data, CI/CD, staging deployments.

💜 Need Help

support@pixelatedempathy.com ·

Community Forum

Last Updated: February 2026