StarStarter for Anxiety, from Arcade Therapeutics, Awarded First APA Labs Digital Badge as Inaugural Recipient

New York — April 16, 2026 — As digital mental and behavioral health tools emerge in the market at an unprecedented speed, healthcare providers and the general public are facing a new and serious challenge: how to identify solutions that are safe, ethical, and evidence-based. Arcade Therapeutics today announced that StarStarter for Anxiety has been awarded an APA Labs Digital Badge and is featured in the newly launched APA Labs Digital Solutions Library — a curated resource of digital mental and behavioral health technologies that have met APA Labs’ independent evaluation standards.

“Digital mental health apps are exploding to meet rising demand, yet care providers are often left stuck figuring out which tools to recommend,” said Raj Amin, CEO and Co-Founder at Arcade Therapeutics. “Earning the APA Labs Digital Badge helps provide that clarity — giving care providers confidence that StarStarter for Anxiety meets a higher bar for app quality and can serve as a meaningful complement to care.”

“As access to mental health tools expands, scientific rigor hasn’t always kept pace,” said Dr. Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer at Arcade Therapeutics. “The APA Labs Digital Badge helps set a higher standard — so patients and providers can identify solutions that are evidence-based, clinically grounded, and truly able to make a difference.”

“Technology has the potential to dramatically expand access to high-quality mental health support — but only if it’s designed and implemented with a basis in rigorous research,” said Tanya Carlson, Managing Director, APA Labs. “This is about cutting through the noise of a rapidly expanding marketplace, ensuring that innovation in digital mental and behavioral health is guided by evidence, ethics, and the real-world needs of clinicians, patients, and users alike.”

In recent years, AI and other emerging technologies have spurred rapid development of new mental health platforms despite a lack of evaluation frameworks. Thousands of apps and tools have sprung up in the digital mental and behavioral health sector, yet clinicians, health systems, payers, and users often lack reliable, independent, and evidence-based guidance to help them make informed decisions.

To address this challenge, the Digital Badge program — developed by APA Labs, a unit of American Psychological Association Services, Inc. (APASI), the companion professional association of the American Psychological Association (APA) — offers independent, evidence-based evaluation of digital mental and behavioral health technologies. APA Labs developed the Digital Badge program to ground evaluations in scientific principles, regulatory alignment, user safety, usability, and more, with the intent to highlight best practices in a largely unregulated market. The APA Labs Digital Badge program has strong visibility among APA’s 190,000 members.

The Digital Solutions Library empowers clinicians, researchers, funders, payers, educators, and advocates to confidently explore, recommend, and integrate digital mental and behavioral health tools into care and practice. StarStarter for Anxiety is among the first cohort of technologies to earn the Digital Badge, joining early adopters who share a commitment to evidence, ethics, and quality.

For more information about StarStarter for Anxiety, visit here. APA Members can register as a Preferred Provider to get discounts and support here.

This APA Labs Digital Badge reflects alignment with APA Labs criteria for scientific principles, safety, ethical use, and usability. It is not an endorsement, or guarantee, of effectiveness, nor is it an evaluation of financial condition, business prospects, investment merit, or legal compliance. 

About Arcade Therapeutics

Arcade Therapeutics is a digital mental health company dedicated to lowering barriers to early engagement in mental health using the power of therapeutic games. Arcade’s evidence-based approach to treatment is based on decades of research and 7 NIH-backed clinical studies, including a most recent study published in the Journal of Anxiety Disorders. Additionally, Arcade was co-awarded a $3.8M NIMH grant with UT Austin to develop an upcoming game treatment for Major Depressive Disorder. Arcade has been named to the Digital Health NY 100 list in 2024 and 2025, and named a Tech for Global Good Laureate at The Tech Interactive Museum.

About APA Labs 

APA Labs is a unit of APA Services, Inc. (APASI), the companion professional association of the American Psychological Association (APA). APA Labs supports the work of APASI through creative, collaborative, psychology-centered projects, programs, and solutions.

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