Quick note before I get into this blog post: Most of the main research I will be doing for RIPU, will be done offline and within research pages. For research on blogs however, they are either things that may not directly tie into my main project or something I wish to talk more freely about as they are ideas bouncing around my head.
I originally wanted to expand my research report I did for BA GAD, however, MA Games I know what to go into a different direction. Instead of looking at how games have already help and can help in the future - I'm going to look at how games can be a form of therapy.
To aid with this, I have gone to the well-being service and left a business card, in the hopes that a therapist or psychologist will get back to me and will be happy to be interviewed. Due to the subject, it's vital that I get the right information.
In addition to this, I began to look at books and current therapies, which could help form the basics of games therapy or to show that some principles have already been used and could be used for games.
One therapy that keep popping up is Cybertherapy. One element that particularly fascinated me about cyber therapy is that some therapist use virtual environments and uses it as controlled exposure for those with social anxiety - to which the client can use what ever learnt in those sessions and use it in real life. This idea could lend well with games therapy.
I looked at the NUA online library sources to find articles and helpful journals that could aid my research report
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-sigman/cybertherapy-is-cyber-but_b_788712.htmlhttps://www.psychologies.co.uk/self/is-cybertherapy-the-future.html
https://www.citelighter.com/science/psychology/knowledgecards/cybertherapy
One idea that keeps coming up in my notes is creating a certification board for video games therapy (VGTC) - a bit like the PEGI certification. Which is comprised of game designer and psychologist, where once games meet the criteria it can have that label, this means any game can have that label and can be easily seen that it is there for therapy. The beauty of games is that they are easily accessible.
Mental health trust keep having budget cuts - which means longer waiting times and will have major negative repercussions. Not many can afford private treatment (from research, it's at least £300) and have to go to the NHS. But due to budget cuts, this will make it far less accessible and this could be detrimental to the well-being of people
Three articles from this year alone about mental health trust budget cuts:
If games could have this certification, people aren't able to go to NHS due to long wait times or can't afford the cost of private treatment - these games could be a far more affordable and accessible form of treatment.
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