Althos: AI-Powered Mental Wellness Platform

---

About Althos

Althos is an AI-powered digital mental wellness platform built for Indian youth. It combines journaling, mood tracking, standardized assessments, and AI-driven insights to support emotional well-being and resilience.

Mission

To democratize mental health support for Indian youth by providing accessible, culturally-sensitive, and AI-enhanced tools for emotional wellness, self-reflection, and professional care coordination.

Key Highlights

• AI-powered empathetic responses and coping strategies
• Cultural sensitivity tailored for Indian youth
• Secure clinical data sharing with QR codes
• Privacy-first approach with end-to-end encryption
• Evidence-based standardized assessments (PHQ-9, GAD-7)

---

Features

Backend (Node.js + Express)

• RESTful API architecture
• PostgreSQL database (Neon) with optimized queries
• Google Vertex AI integration for intelligent coaching and summaries
• Secure authentication and authorization
• Mental health assessments with automated scoring
• Clinical sharing with QR codes and access tracking
• Comprehensive logging and error handling

Frontend (Next.js 14 + React)

• App Router architecture with server-side rendering
• Responsive design using Tailwind CSS and shadcn/ui
• WCAG 2.1 accessibility compliance
• Journaling with rich text editing and mood integration
• Mood tracking with atlas visualization and trend analysis
• AI-powered weekly summaries and recommendations
• QR code generation for clinical sharing
• Progressive Web App for mobile

AI & Analytics

• Empathetic response generation (Google Vertex AI - Gemini)
• Personalized coping strategies
• Risk assessment and crisis support
• Weekly growth summaries with metaphorical insights
• Mood pattern recognition with clustering
• Text-to-speech integration for accessibility

---

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js v18+
• npm v8+ (or yarn)
• PostgreSQL (Neon recommended)
• Google Cloud account with Vertex AI enabled
• Git

Installation

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/althos.git
cd althos

Backend Setup

cd backend
npm install
cp .env.example .env
nano .env
npm run db:init
npm run build
npm run dev    # Development
npm start      # Production

Frontend Setup

cd ../frontend
npm install
cp .env.example .env
nano .env
npm run dev    # Development
npm run build
npm start      # Production

Access

• Frontend: http://localhost:3000
• Backend API: http://localhost:8080
• API Health Check: http://localhost:8080/health

---

Configuration

Backend Environment Variables (.env)

PORT=8080
NODE_ENV=development
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://username:password@hostname:port/database?sslmode=require
GCP_PROJECT_ID=your-project-id
GCP_LOCATION=us-central1
GEMINI_MODEL=gemini-1.5-pro
TTS_VOICE=en-IN-Wavenet-A
ENABLE_AI=true
ENABLE_TTS=true
JWT_SECRET=your-jwt-secret-key
CORS_ORIGIN=http://localhost:3000

Frontend Environment Variables (.env.local)

NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=http://localhost:8080
NEXT_PUBLIC_ENABLE_ANALYTICS=false
NEXT_PUBLIC_ENABLE_PWA=true
NEXT_PUBLIC_DEMO_MODE=true
NEXT_PUBLIC_DEMO_USER_ID=550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000

---

Project Structure

althos/
├── backend/
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── index.ts
│   │   ├── db.ts
│   │   ├── ai.ts
│   │   ├── types.ts
│   │   ├── utils.ts
│   │   └── copy.ts
│   ├── sql/schema.sql
│   ├── .env.example
│   ├── package.json
│   └── tsconfig.json
│
├── frontend/
│   ├── app/
│   │   ├── (auth)/
│   │   ├── dashboard/
│   │   ├── share/
│   │   ├── layout.tsx
│   │   ├── page.tsx
│   │   └── globals.css
│   ├── components/
│   ├── lib/
│   ├── hooks/
│   ├── public/
│   ├── .env.example
│   ├── package.json
│   ├── tailwind.config.js
│   └── next.config.js
│
├── docs/
├── LICENSE
└── README.md

---

API Endpoints

Authentication & User

• POST /register
• GET /profile
• PUT /profile

Journaling

• POST /journal
• GET /journal
• POST /ai/journal-coach

Assessments

• POST /tests/phq9
• POST /tests/gad7
• GET /tests/insights

Mood Tracking

• POST /mood/daily
• GET /mood/atlas
• GET /mood/trends

AI Wellness

• POST /ai/weekly-summary
• POST /ai/kindness
• POST /ai/distress-check

Clinical Sharing

• POST /shares/new
• GET /shares/list
• POST /shares/:id/revoke
• GET /shares/:token/summary

---

Testing

Backend

cd backend
npm test
npm run test:integration
npm run test:coverage

Frontend

cd frontend
npm test
npm run test:e2e
npm run test:a11y

---

Deployment

Backend (Google Cloud)

npm run build
gcloud functions deploy althos-backend --runtime nodejs18
gcloud run deploy althos-backend --source .

Frontend (Vercel)

vercel --prod
npm run build && npm run export

---

Security & Privacy

• End-to-end encryption
• GDPR-compliant data control
• Role-based access with audit logs
• Time-limited clinical sharing
• No personally identifiable information stored
• JWT-based secure authentication

---

Contributing

1. Fork repository
2. Create feature branch: git checkout -b feature/new-feature
3. Commit: git commit -m "Add new feature"
4. Push: git push origin feature/new-feature
5. Open Pull Request

Development Guidelines:

• Strict TypeScript mode
• Comprehensive tests
• Conventional commit messages
• Accessibility compliance
• Update documentation

---

License

MIT License Copyright (c) 2025 Althos Team

Permission is granted to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software under MIT terms. Provided "AS IS", without warranty of any kind.

---

Acknowledgments

• Google Cloud Vertex AI
• Neon PostgreSQL
• Vercel
• shadcn/ui
• Mental health professionals
• Indian youth community testers

---

Made for mental wellness Althos - Empowering Indian youth with AI-driven mental health support