Arcade Therapeutics and Kean University Offer Game-Based Digital Therapeutic to College Students with Social Anxiety

(October 17, 2023, NEW JERSEY) Arcade Therapeutics jointly announced a partnership with Kean University’s Counseling Center to offer students StarStarter Rx, a therapeutic mobile game designed to reduce social anxiety. Kean will offer free access to Arcade’s digital therapeutic as part of a broader initiative to expand its facilities and mental health resources.

“Social anxiety can be debilitating to students’ lives by encouraging avoidant behavior through excessive rumination and worry. It can be the obstacle to joining an extracurricular activity, having fun with friends, or raising your hand in class – some of the most important aspects of college life.” said Genique Stanislaus, Executive Director of the Kean Wellness Center.

John Grady PhD, Associate Director of Kean’s Counseling Center, added “Arcade embeds a cognitive training technique called attention bias modification in StarStarter Rx. This re-trains biases towards negative or threatening information that are typical amongst those suffering from persistent social anxiety.”

After temporarily offering StarStarter Rx to Kean students through the Kean Wellness Center, Dr. Grady will then collaborate with Arcade to launch a separate research study focused on assessing the impact of StarStarter Rx on mental health and quality of life among socially anxious students through Kean’s Counseling Center.

“Today’s college students went through formative moments of their social development during a global pandemic. They went through lockdowns, Zoom classes, and mask mandates that, while necessary, have created elevated anxiety in many social situations.” said Raj Amin, CEO and Co-Founder of Arcade Therapeutics. “Thus, anxiety and depression amongst college students is higher than ever. We are thrilled to offer StarStarter Rx to students in need of help on their own time, and investigate its impact on this population with so much unmet need.”