Video games have wide appeal among young people, including those who receive mental health services. Many youth with mental health concerns are using this route to seek help through digital mental health treatment, illness prevention tools, or support for mental wellbeing.
To facilitate the use and interaction of serious video games in youth mental health settings and promote youth mental well-being and recovery, we conducted a comprehensive literature review to identify the videogame interventions for young people, ages 12-29, focusing on evidence for the capacity of games to support treatment in youth mental health services; how stakeholders were involved in developing or evaluating games; and any potential harms and ethical remedies identified.
Using the information from the Gaming My Way to Recovery, serious video games navigator is as a living database to be continually updated as new serious video games are developed, adapted or validated for a new purpose.