Abstract
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.
Highlights
There has been growing interest in the use of gamification in the field of health care
This paper aims to address this issue by providing a design framework to enhance both the conceptual and practical knowledge of gamification in mental health care
The 4 case studies were presented to help illustrate how our proposed Dual-Loop model and the game therapy world concept could be put into practice when designing gamification for mental health care
Summary
There has been growing interest in the use of gamification in the field of health care. The concept of gamification proposes that motivational elements drawn from the field of game design could be applied to a positive effect in a nongame context such as health care [1,2]. This approach has been used to help users manage symptoms related to diabetes [3] and allow patients with cancer to better understand their condition [4]. The field of mental health care in particular has seen increasing interest in the use of gamification, especially to enhance the effectiveness of psychological therapies, often by improving adherence and engagement in the therapeutic activities (see [5,6]). Various gamified therapeutic activities have been developed and used for the treatment of conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [9]
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