Fleming TM, Bavin L, Stasiak K, et al. (2017). Serious games and gamification for mental health: Current status and promising directions. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 7. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2016.00215
The authors highlight the promise for using games in mental health because they can appeal to large audiences, be engaging, and be used to educate users and promote behavior change. Motivations for playing games include: achievement, exploration of the game world, socializing with others, competitive domination, immersion, and escape from problems. The authors conducted a review of three systematic reviews of the use of serious games or gamification in mental health. The games described in the three reviews were used to address symptoms of depression or anxiety disorders. There were six types of games included in the three reviews, including “exergames” (games that involve movement and virtual sports), virtual reality games, cognitive behavior therapy-based games, entertainment computer games (commercially released computer games that are evaluated for their effects on mental health), biofeedback-based games (users rehearse skills and the game provides feedback about their physical state), and cognitive training games (games for improving cognitive capacities). Each type of game showed largely positive results, excluding entertainment computer games, which showed more varied results.