The broader medical community doesn’t take games all that seriously. But there’s evidence that shows games can help you relax, reduce stress, and help depression and anxiety. Now, you can help further that research and get games taken a little more seriously — and get healthier, more mentally fulfilling games to boot.
Checkpoint is a non-profit that, in its own words, “connects mental health resources with video games and technology” — it builds and provides mental health information and publications for gamers and about gaming, sets up safe chill-out spaces at conventions for anyone who might be feeling a bit overwhelmed, and provides guidance on how to treat mental health in video game narratives.
As an advocate for games as therapy, Checkpoint makes the very good point that they’re cheaper than traditional medication and therapy, they’re familiar for a large audience, and they’re often fun. The organisation wants to see more games with potential therapeutic applications developed, and it says the best way forward is to gather data — from you — on how people feel when they’re playing, what kind of games they play, and how they play them.
To that end, Checkpoint is running a wide-ranging quantitative survey of anyone over 18, aiming to better understand the potential psychological benefits of video games. All you need to do to take part is to fill out a Google form and answer
Checkpoint is aiming for a sample size of at least 5000 respondents to its anonymous survey, although the more the better. Here’s a link to the survey. [Checkpoint]
Disclosure: I backed Checkpoint’s Kickstarter in June. I also know the Checkpoint team socially.