Use of Video Games in a Child And Adolescent Psychiatric Unit

Video game has become the preferred form of play among youth. Substantial research has mainly examined problems related to potential negative effects of video games ranging from sedentary screen time, exposure to violence, and excessive or problematic gaming. However, over the past two decades, the use of video games in psychotherapy has become increasingly popular with a lot of applications.

After a review of the use and the effectiveness of commercial video games in the psychotherapy framework, we will share our experience in the use of video games in a child and adolescent psychiatric unit. We will illustrate it with the presentation of specific case reports.

As video games are highly popular among children and adolescents, they are also interesting tools in the psychotherapeutic work with them. It's a new kind of play therapy, considering the setting, the psychological material that expresses during the game, the interpersonal relationships between gamers, the projective representation within the avatars, the cognitive strategies within the game.

Video games represent an essential tool in taking care of child psychiatric patients because of their popularity. They contribute greatly to build the patient/psychotherapist relationship. They help to approach cognitive, emotional and social patient's functioning, and also psychopathologic understanding and then psychiatric diagnosis.