Game Design in Mental Health Care: Case Study–Based Framework for Integrating Game Design Into Therapeutic Content

Abstract

'Fatemeh Ghezelbash' 'Fatemeh Ghezelbash' 'Panote Siriaraya' 'Valentijn Visch' 'Marilisa Boffo' 'Renske Spijkerman' 'Reinout Wiers' 'Kees Korrelboom' 'Vincent Hendriks' 'Elske Salemink' 'Marierose van Dooren' 'Michael Bas' 'Richard Goossens'] While there has been increasing interest in the use of gamification in mental health care, there is a lack of design knowledge on how elements from games could be integrated into existing therapeutic treatment activities in a manner that is balanced and effective. To help address this issue, we propose a design process framework to support the development of mental health gamification. Based on the concept of experienced game versus therapy worlds, we highlight 4 different therapeutic components that could be gamified to increase user engagement. By means of a Dual-Loop model, designers can balance the therapeutic and game design components and design the core elements of a mental health care gamification. To support the proposed framework, 4 cases of game design in mental health care (eg, therapeutic protocols for addiction, anxiety, and low self-esteem) are presented.