SKIDS and US-based Arcade Therapeutics are partnering to revolutionize mental healthcare for adolescents in India by bringing the concept of digital therapeutics to the country for the first time ever. SKIDS and Arcade plan to develop a digital-first therapy protocol to improve and accelerate the efficacy of therapy for school-going children suffering from social anxiety.
 

SKIDS and Arcade Therapeutics partner to revolutionize mental healthcare in Indian schools
 

Arcade Therapeutics develops and clinically validates therapeutic mobile games that are based on decades of neuroscience research. Their flagship game - StarStarter Rx - has been clinically validated as the first digital therapeutic tool for those suffering from elevated social anxiety. As part of the SKIDS School health program, schools will get exclusive access to this game. And both companies are working together to integrate the app within SKIDS’s broader behavioral health protocol to improve and accelerate the efficacy of treatment for adolescents struggling with social anxiety.

Shedding more light on the partnership and the project, Mr. Sunny Makro, Co-founder and CEO, SKIDS, says, “Our vision is to provide a full-stack health-tech solution focused on kids' health. Our partnership with Arcade Therapeutics is an important step in this direction.”

Dr Satish Rath, Co-founder and Chief Scientist at SKIDS says, “We want to bring cutting-edge research from digital therapeutics to India to provide better tools for parents and teachers to manage and reduce social anxiety amongst adolescents.”

The StarStarter Rx app - which is available on both Apple and Android devices - can be used as a monotherapy or combined with other therapy protocols on the recommendation of a qualified psychologist who confirms the diagnosis of 'social anxiety disorder'. The app only requires 12 minutes of playtime a day, four days a week, for four weeks to see a significant improvement in social anxiety symptoms, with access to the app for 90 days. During the course of treatment, brief mental health assessments are compared with mid and post-protocol scores to monitor and triage the users’ mental health status and symptom improvement. 

“Social Anxiety Disorder can be incredibly concerning for everyone, and especially for adolescents fostering important social connections that build positive relationships in their lives. We are incredibly excited to partner with an innovative provider such as SKIDS to help treat this condition and give them a new non-drug option to support the vast need for help,” says Raj Amin, CEO and Co-founder of Arcade Therapeutics.