New Tetris Based Study Confirms Video Games Can Significantly Impact Mental Health

One of the early studies that drew attention to video games’ ability to address mental health was an intervention for traumatized individuals with a high likelihood of developing post traumatic stress disorder.

In that study, participants playing Tetris just once immediately following a traumatic event (car accident) experienced 62% less PTSD symptoms verses the control group. Surpassing traditional results from talk and pharmaceutical based therapies.

This new study extends those findings with a much larger group of participants frequently exposed to trauma, in many cases not treated immediately following the traumatic event (could be months later) and followed them for 6 months after the treatment to measure effect.

These participants, worked in chaotic health care environments, experiencing much more frequent exposure to traumatic events than previous study subjects.

The health care workers who played Tetris experienced a significant decrease (better than 60% overall) in the number of intrusive memories, both in the short term and at the six-month follow-up, far surpassing the control group.

Quote from the studies authors:

“I realize that it may seem unlikely that such a short intervention, which includes video games but doesn’t include an in-depth discussion of trauma with a therapist, could help. But the study provides scientifically controlled evidence that a single guided digital treatment session can reduce the number of intrusive memories, and that it can be used safely by participants.”

This study further qualifies the legitimacy to video game based therapeutics, extending the scope of the research and adding an extensive statistical analysis.

Read the published study here: https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-024-03569-8

Source: https://www.psypost.org/study-finds-tetris-based-therapy-can-ease-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-symptoms/