Psychotherapy Through Video Games: is it Effective?

Video games are a sector in constant development and with almost infinite future possibilities. While in the beginning video games consisted of simple codes that executed very simple commands, today the level of recreation of reality is impressive and, however, continues to evolve by leaps and bounds.

If we add to this factor the commercialization and increasingly massive development of Virtual Reality products, we have a really interesting cocktail to start producing. video games dedicated exclusively to a therapeutic practice or, at least, to use existing means to carry out some types of therapy under the supervision of a professional duly trained in the field.

The therapeutic potential of video games

In a previous article we talked about the educational use that a genre of video games, with great projection, called sandbox, could have. This genre in particular has great qualities to also be used as a tool to carry out therapies of different types, such as cognitive rehabilitation therapies.

The key element that this genre of video games has is the freedom of action within a world that generally simulates the real world. This element sees its action enhanced if we also add social game functionalities that, by the mere fact of promoting social relationships, already represent a therapeutic element in itself, as we saw in a previous article in which we analyzed the therapeutic possibilities. of Pokémon Go.

The power of virtual worlds in video games

The human mind is capable of performing amazing feats, and among all of them, the ability to establish emotional and intellectual connections with virtual worlds opens the possibility of carrying out an endless number of therapeutic practices that would not be possible if the video game industry were not at the point where it is.

The capacity for empathy that we have as humans allows us to enter the virtual worlds that video games offer at a very high level, especially if we add the new Virtual Reality techniques that greatly enhance the player’s immersion in the video game, making the sensation Being inside it is surprising. This opens a new avenue of possibilities for performing psychotherapy, allowing the user to enter a world in which we establish the desired parameters so that their experience is enriching and therapeutic depending on the context.

As an example of this, there are more and more experiments carried out with this topic, and The results in the vast majority of studies show great potential for video games in therapy methodology.

Some examples of video games with therapeutic potential

A good example of this type of study is the one carried out by Llorens et al. (2015), in which they conducted a video game-based group therapy on individuals suffering from some type of traumatic brain injury. One hour per week for six months, this group carried out a type of therapy designed by the authors, and the results showed that it was a very effective and motivating experience, since substantially improved self-awareness social skills and their behaviors, taking into account that these were patients with traumatic brain injuries.

Another interesting study is the one carried out by Fernandez-Aranda et al. (2015) in which video games were tested as a tool to carry out cognitive-behavioral therapy in patients with bulimia nervosa. In this study, it was proven how cognitive-behavioral therapy, together with the so-called serious games, could be of great help in the emotional deregulation of patients. Using both, they observed that patients with bulimia nervosa suffered fewer dropouts and greater remission of symptoms, both partial and total, compared to the control group that only carried out cognitive behavioral therapy without the support of the video game.

On the other hand, studies such as those by Krzywinska (2015), Younbo et al. (2015), Servais (2015) or Smethhurst (2015), show us that video games can be used by therapists to enhance patients’ insight and obtain deeper information about their person, especially in video games. survival horror, first person shooter and role playing gamessince they deal with topics that in many cases are taboo, such as funerals, death and even trauma. Under a therapeutic context, the immersion of the patient within these virtual worlds where these topics are discussed can provide very valuable information that could otherwise be much more difficult to obtain.

Furthermore, today there are digital tools based on the application of video games with therapeutic potential, such as the case of Sincrolab.

This platform is designed to be applied to support neuropsychological intervention and aims to offer cognitive training exercises with a base of Artificial Intelligence that allows each session to be personalized and the progress of each person to be monitored. Sincrolab adapts the difficulty of each of the games to the needs of each patient and generates reports for each person to obtain essential data about their performance. Although this application is designed to be put into practice in clinical practice, Sincrolab can also be used by any user who may present deficits or difficulties associated with phenomena such as ADHD.

Finally, a study carried out by Sevick et al. was recently published. (2016) in which they performed a type of movement therapy in the upper extremities in patients with cerebral palsy, using video games and the Microsoft Kinect motion sensor. In this study They observed that the levels of motivation in performing the exercises were considerably higher when they used this platform that integrates video games and movement, thus obtaining greater performance and the possibility of transferring the intervention to the patients’ homes, due to the high performance compared to the exercises performed in the clinical center or laboratory.

Concluding

As we can see, the results of these studies show the great usefulness that video games can have within psychotherapy and counseling, thus increasing the range of tools that the therapist can use, since, like the chair technique empty or exhibition, They offer new possibilities that should not be overlooked despite the existing skepticism regarding this new paradigm. All these studies discover a new world in the application of video games to carry out therapies and treatments of all kinds, as long as the use is supervised by professionals trained in the field.

Emphasizing the importance in the first stages of vital development, video games are a tool with great expectations for the future, especially if we take into account the speed at which the video game sector evolves and the new platforms that are developed in parallel, such as Reality Virtual or motion sensors, which further open up a range of possibilities, which in itself is very interesting and which should be taken into account much more given its characteristics.