From violence and brain damage to antisocial behaviour and addiction, young people are constantly warned about the harmful effects of video games.
Well, now researchers have unveiled a new therapeutic kind of game designed for young people who are experiencing emotional disorders like anxiety and depression.
gNats Island, which is based on Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), involves exploring an island and helping a team of world famous wildlife explorers.
The explorers introduce various concepts associated with CBT to help users challenge negative thoughts that feed emotional disorders.
For example, Negative Automatic Thoughts (NATs) are presented as little flies that can sting you into negative ways of thinking usually without you noticing. The explorers also ask questions and set tasks that the users can respond to with the help of their therapist.
The game is supposed to help users reflect and challenge their own thinking while slowly changing their behaviour.
Results so far found that after six sessions a child’s level of anxiety and depression falls from clinical to the normal ranges.
