The video game industry is 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, nowadays the level of recreation of reality is impressive and, nevertheless, it continues to evolve by leaps and bounds.

If to this factor we add the commercialization and the 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 the existing means to perform some types of therapy under the supervision of a professional properly trained in the matter.

The therapeutic potential of the video game

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

The key element of this video game genre is the freedom of action within a world that usually simulates the real world. This element is enhanced if we also add social game features that, by the mere fact of fostering social relations, are already a therapeutic element, as we saw in a previous article in which we analysed 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 performing an endless number of therapeutic practices that would not be possible to do if the video game industry were not at the point it is.

The capacity for empathy that we possess as humans allows us to enter into the virtual worlds offered by video games 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 of being inside it surprising. This opens up a new avenue of possibilities for 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, more and more experiments are being carried out with this subject, 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 carried out a group therapy based on video games in individuals who suffered some type of traumatic brain injury. One hour per week during 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 they substantially improved their self-awareness , social skills and their behaviour, taking into account that they 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 for cognitive-behavioral therapy in patients with bulimia nervosa. In this study it was shown how cognitive-behavioral therapy, together with 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 more remission of symptoms, both partial and total, compared to the control group that only performed 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 more in-depth information about their person, especially in video games survival horror , first person shooters and role playing games , as they deal with subjects that are often taboo, such as funerals, death and even trauma. In a therapeutic context, the immersion of the patient within these virtual worlds where these subjects are treated can provide very valuable information that might otherwise be much more difficult to achieve.

Finally, a study conducted by Sevick et al. (2016) was recently published in which they performed a type of movement therapy on the upper extremities in patients with cerebral palsy, using video games and the Microsoft Kinect movement sensor. In this study they observed that the levels of motivation in carrying out the exercises were considerably higher when they made use of 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 carried out in the clinical centre or laboratory.

Concluding

As we can see, the results of these studies show the great usefulness that video games can have in psychotherapy and counselling, thus increasing the range of tools that the therapist can use, since, just like the empty chair or exhibition technique , they offer new possibilities that should not be overlooked despite the scepticism that exists in the face of 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 their use is supervised by professionals trained in the field.

Emphasizing the importance in the early stages of vital development, video games are a tool with great expectations for the future, especially if we consider the speed at which the video game sector is evolving and the new platforms that are being developed in parallel, such as Virtual Reality or motion sensors, which open up an even wider range of possibilities, which is already very interesting and should be taken into account much more given their characteristics.

Bibliographic references:

  • Fernandez-Aranda, F., Jimenez-Murcia, S., Santamaría, J.J., Giner-Bartolomé, C., Mestre-Bach,G., Granero, R., etal. (2015). The use of videogames as complementary therapeutic tool for cognitive behavioral therapy in bulimia nervosa patients. Cyberpsychol. Behav. Soc. Netw. 18, pp. 744 – 751.
  • Krzywinska, T. (2015). Gaming horror’s horror: representation, regulation, and affect in survival horror videogames. J. Vis. Cult. 14, pp. 293 – 297.
  • Llorens, R., Noé, E., Ferri, J., y Alcañiz, M. (2015). Terapia de grupo basada en videojuegos para mejorar la autoconciencia y las habilidades sociales después de una lesión cerebral traumática. J. Rehabilitación por Neuroingeniería. 12, págs. 1 a 8.
  • Servais, O. (2015). Funerales en el ‘World of Warcraft’s: religión, polémica y estilos de juego en un universo de videojuegos. Soc. Compass 62, pp. 362 – 378.
  • Sevick, M., Eklund, E., Mensch, A., Foreman, M., Standeven, J., & Engsberg, J. (2016). Using Free Internet Videogames in Upper Extremity Motor Training for Children with Cerebral Palsy. Behavioral Sciences, 6(2), 10.
  • Smethhurst, T. (2015). Jugando a los muertos en los videojuegos: el limbo de los traumas. J. Pop. Cult. 48, pp. 817 – 835.
  • Younbo, J., Hyun Jee, O., Sng, J., Joung Huem, K., y Detenber, B. H.(2015). Revisando la preferencia de género para un videojuego de disparos en primera persona: efectos de la sensibilidad no verbal y el género en el disfrute. Interactuar. Computar. 27, págs. 697 a 705.