We’re reimagining mental health care
Personalized to you
Alena dives deep into the nuances of your mind to provide you with personalized support.
Mental health assessments are often imprecise. Assigning labels broadly without distinguishing the unique aspects of each individual leads to standardized treatment.
Computational Neuroscience is the secret to gaining a deeper understanding of the human mind
Mathematics can help explain how a complex system and its different parts work, such as the speed of a piston or the birth rate of a country.
The human brain is one such complex system. Computational Neuroscience is the field of study that uses math to describe how neurons in our brain interact with each other to create thoughts and behaviors. We call these brain computations or cognitive processes. By building models of different cognitive processes, we can explain the thought patterns and behaviors we see in real life.
Computational psychiatry allows us to treat every mind uniquely
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And how these cognitive processes, are affected by psychological treatment. By mapping these connections of your unique set of thought patterns, we have the potential to predict and monitor which therapy will work best for you. This focus on cognitive processes unlocks the ability to understand how - and, most importantly, why - different mental health treatments work. For example, two people with social anxiety might avoid going to parties for different reasons - one person might believe they aren’t charismatic enough (an example of negative beliefs), but the other person might have had one bad prior experience and not been able to stop thinking about it (an example of rumination). Hence, in computational psychiatry, no two individual minds are exactly alike, even if they show similar behaviors. The approach that no two minds are alike is what enables Alena to tailor the user’s experience.
Computational psychiatry as a bridge from neuroscience to clinical applications
Huys QJ, Maia TV, Frank MJ
Computational Psychiatry: towards a mathematically informed understanding of mental illness
Adams RA, Huys QJM, Roiser JP
Components of Behavioral Activation Therapy for Depression Engage Specific Reinforcement Learning Mechanisms in a Pilot Study
Huys QJM, Russek, EM, Abitante G, Kahnt T, and Gollan JK
Alena’s assessments are a unique blend of engaging, immersive mobile gameplay with objective and reliable scientific measurements
Most mental health assessments rely on you to paint an accurate picture of how you think and feel in different situations.
But sometimes you might not remember what caused you to feel a certain way or be aware of the decisions you made. This is why mental health assessments can be biased and imprecise.
Ground breaking assessments
Personalized
Therapy designed with you in mind
Alena’s therapy works by helping you understand the different thought patterns and behaviors you use in your everyday life that unintentionally keep your social anxiety going, and by helping you change those patterns and behaviors.
Our therapists and scientists have designed our therapy modules around each of the four main cognitive processes (Beliefs, Attention, Rumination and Avoidance) allowing for the therapy to be targeted.
Our program is based on the evidence-backed Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) model of social anxiety proposed by David Clark and Adrian Wells in 1995 (Clark and Wells, 1995).
Alena is designed to support your psychological and emotional growth, regardless of where you are starting from. It is designed to be non-judgemental, to teach you a set of skills that have been proven to help people overcome social anxiety, and to be interactive, engaging, repeatable.
Social anxiety is holding millions of people back from reaching their full potential
What is Social Anxiety?
Social anxiety is the fear of being judged negatively by others. Almost everyone experiences this fear to an extent and feels nervous and fearful in some social situations, such as job interviews, dates, or giving a speech or presentation.
When the fear of negative judgment starts to interfere and cause significant anxiety, self-consciousness, embarrassment and rumination in everyday life - this is considered social anxiety disorder (SAD).
Social anxiety is holding millions of people back from reaching their full potential
What is Social Anxiety?
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Social anxiety is the fear of being judged negatively by others. Almost everyone experiences this fear to an extent and feels nervous and fearful in some social situations, such as job interviews, dates, or giving a speech or presentation.
When the fear of negative judgment starts to interfere and cause significant anxiety, self-consciousness, embarrassment and rumination in everyday life - this is considered social anxiety disorder (SAD).
Fear and anxiety may arise before, during, and after certain social interactions (e.g. talking with strangers), being observed (e.g. buying groceries), and/or performing in front of others (e.g. public speaking). Many also feel exhausted after challenging social situations.In social anxiety disorder, the fear or anxiety is out of proportion to the actual threat faced in the social situation. Often, people recognize this and may feel frustrated with and powerless against the intensity of their anxiety. Both introverts and extroverts can experience social anxiety disorder. With extroverts, this means that the social connection that they want is also what scares them.
The intensity of this anxiety can lead to avoidance behaviors, both subtle (e.g. wearing headphones to avoid speaking with others or avoiding eye contact), and more overt (e.g. canceling plans last minute or hiding out in the bathroom at a social event). When a feared social situation is not avoided, it is usually endured with intense fear or anxiety.
The fear, anxiety, or avoidance causes significant stress and/or holding back and missing out in relationships, daily routines, work, school or other everyday activities.
Social anxiety is holding millions of people back from reaching their full potential
What is Social Anxiety?
-
Social anxiety is the fear of being judged negatively by others. Almost everyone experiences this fear to an extent and feels nervous and fearful in some social situations, such as job interviews, dates, or giving a speech or presentation.
When the fear of negative judgment starts to interfere and cause significant anxiety, self-consciousness, embarrassment and rumination in everyday life - this is considered social anxiety disorder (SAD).
Fear and anxiety may arise before, during, and after certain social interactions (e.g. talking with strangers), being observed (e.g. buying groceries), and/or performing in front of others (e.g. public speaking). Many also feel exhausted after challenging social situations.In social anxiety disorder, the fear or anxiety is out of proportion to the actual threat faced in the social situation. Often, people recognize this and may feel frustrated with and powerless against the intensity of their anxiety. Both introverts and extroverts can experience social anxiety disorder. With extroverts, this means that the social connection that they want is also what scares them.
The intensity of this anxiety can lead to avoidance behaviors, both subtle (e.g. wearing headphones to avoid speaking with others or avoiding eye contact), and more overt (e.g. canceling plans last minute or hiding out in the bathroom at a social event). When a feared social situation is not avoided, it is usually endured with intense fear or anxiety.
The fear, anxiety, or avoidance causes significant stress and/or holding back and missing out in relationships, daily routines, work, school or other everyday activities.
Alena’s assessments are a unique blend of engaging, immersive mobile gameplay with objective and reliable scientific measurements
Most mental health assessments rely on you to paint an accurate picture of how you think and feel in different situations.
But sometimes you might not remember what caused you to feel a certain way or be aware of the decisions you made. This is why mental health assessments can be biased and imprecise
Ground breaking assessments
This approach allows you to behave naturally in a fun, safe environment. Although the assessments feel like games, they are actually carefully designed to isolate specific mental patterns (or “cognitive processes”).
Explore our ground-breaking assessments
Most mental health assessments rely on you to paint an accurate picture of how you think and feel in different situations.
But sometimes you might not remember what caused you to feel a certain way or be aware of the decisions you made.
This is why mental health assessments can be biased and imprecise.
Alena’s assessments are a unique blend of engaging, immersive mobile gameplay with objective and reliable scientific measurements
This approach allows you to behave naturally in a fun, safe environment. Although the assessments feel like games, they are actually carefully designed to isolate specific mental patterns (or “cognitive processes”).
This means that the choices you make and how you react in the game can speak volumes about how your brain works. Alena uses this information to build an individual model of how much work a particular cognitive process (e.g., avoidance, rumination) needs and how you might respond to different therapy modules.
Alena’s assessments are a unique blend of engaging, immersive mobile gameplay with objective and reliable scientific measurements
Most mental health assessments rely on you to paint an accurate picture of how you think and feel in different situations.
But sometimes you might not remember what caused you to feel a certain way or be aware of the decisions you made. This is why mental health assessments can be biased and imprecise.
Ground breaking assessments
This approach allows you to behave naturally in a fun, safe environment. Although the assessments feel like games, they are actually carefully designed to isolate specific mental patterns (or “cognitive processes”).
This means that the choices you make and how you react in the game can speak volumes about how your brain works. Alena uses this information to build an individual model of how much work a particular cognitive process (e.g., avoidance, rumination) needs and how you might respond to different therapy modules.
Computational psychiatry allows us to treat every mind uniquely
Quentin Huys, Alena’s Co-Chief Science Officer, a leading figure in the field of computational psychiatry has discovered the thought patterns underlying our cognitive processes. And how these in turn are affected by psychological treatment. By mapping these connections of your unique set of thought patterns, we have the potential to predict and monitor which therapy will work best for you.
This focus on cognitive processes unlocks the ability to understand how - and, most importantly, why - different mental health treatments work. For example, two people with social anxiety might avoid going to parties for different reasons - one person might believe they aren’t charismatic enough (an example of negative beliefs), but the other person might have had one bad prior experience and not been able to stop thinking about it (an example of rumination). Hence, in computational psychiatry, no two individual minds are exactly alike, even if they show similar behaviors. The approach that no two minds are alike is what enables Alena to tailor the user’s experience.
Computational psychiatry allows us to treat every mind uniquely
Quentin Huys, Alena’s Co-Chief Science Officer, a leading figure in the field of computational psychiatry has discovered the thought patterns underlying our cognitive processes.
And how these cognitive processes, are affected by psychological treatment. By mapping these connections of your unique set of thought patterns, we have the potential to predict and monitor which therapy will work best for you. This focus on cognitive processes unlocks the ability to understand how - and, most importantly, why - different mental health treatments work.
For example, two people with social anxiety might avoid going to parties for different reasons - one person might believe they aren’t charismatic enough (an example of negative beliefs), but the other person might have had one bad prior experience and not been able to stop thinking about it (an example of rumination). Hence, in computational psychiatry, no two individual minds are exactly alike, even if they show similar behaviors. The approach that no two minds are alike is what enables Alena to tailor the user’s experience.
Computational psychiatry allows us to treat every mind uniquely
-
And how these cognitive processes, are affected by psychological treatment. By mapping these connections of your unique set of thought patterns, we have the potential to predict and monitor which therapy will work best for you. This focus on cognitive processes unlocks the ability to understand how - and, most importantly, why - different mental health treatments work. For example, two people with social anxiety might avoid going to parties for different reasons - one person might believe they aren’t charismatic enough (an example of negative beliefs), but the other person might have had one bad prior experience and not been able to stop thinking about it (an example of rumination). Hence, in computational psychiatry, no two individual minds are exactly alike, even if they show similar behaviors. The approach that no two minds are alike is what enables Alena to tailor the user’s experience.