Forum on video games for mental health

Over the recent years, mental health has become a major disease burden globally. Untreated mental illness has serious consequences for the individual, resulting in lower quality of life and has severe negative effects on the global economy. Digital solutions for mental health offer relief to the overburdened health care system but would benefit from design approaches geared to increase participant adherence and engagement. Video games offer a rich design ecosphere-ranging from narrative elements usable in therapy, accessible social dynamics, challenging cognitive tasks, to novel assessment approaches and applicability as preventive measures-suggesting their potential to advance digital solutions for mental health. While there is clear potential in video games for mental health, the challenges and opportunities of transferring game design to mental health applications, designing for specific mental illnesses, and integration games for mental health into the clinical context are rarely addressed.