Gaming My Way to Recovery: Understanding How to Integrate Serious Video Games into Youth Mental Health Services

This proceedings paper, presented at DiGRA 2019, examines how serious video games might be integrated into youth mental health and substance misuse services. Its central premise is that video games, which are widely played by adolescents and young adults and are among the preferred technologies of youth in mental health care, could serve as tools for monitoring, assessment, and treatment if implemented appropriately. The authors situate the work within a stepped care framework, organizing potential applications across levels from population-based wellness promotion (Step 0) through at-risk groups (Step 1), mild to moderate illness (Steps 2 and 3), and severe illness (Step 4).

The study is a scoping review following Arksey and O'Malley's methodology, designed to map evidence sources, evidence types, evidence quality, and research gaps. Searches covered Medline, EMBASE, PsycInfo, and the Cochrane Library, targeting youth aged 11 to 29 with mental health or substance use concerns. At the time of writing, the librarian had identified 6,299 unique citations by the end of November 2018, with screening and data extraction expected to finish around March 2019 and synthesis planned for April 2019. The paper therefore reports protocol development and search results rather than final findings.

The review's planned analytical scope spans specific disorders such as anxiety, depression, psychosis, PTSD, and eating disorders; treatment levels from promotion through treatment; modalities including self-help and psychotherapy; diverse populations such as Indigenous, ethno-racial, LGBTQ2S+, and low-income youth; and settings ranging from community to rural and remote care. It also addresses ethical practices and user engagement. The authors frame the purpose as producing practical recommendations for clinicians and policymakers and identifying gaps to guide future research, while acknowledging the emerging WHO classification of gaming disorder as a complicating consideration for providers.