Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit St., Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Acad Psychiatry. 2010 May-Jun;34(3):233-6. doi: 10.1176/appi.ap.34.3.233.
Video games are used in medical practice during psycho-education in chronic disease management, physical therapy, rehabilitation following traumatic brain injury, and as an adjunct in pain management during medical procedures or cancer chemotherapy. In psychiatric practice, video games aid in social skills training of children with developmental delays and in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This most popular children's toy may prove a useful tool in dynamic psychotherapy of youth.
The author provides a framework for using video games in psychotherapy by considering the characteristics of video games and describes the ways their use has facilitated various stages of therapeutic process.
Just as other play techniques build a relationship and encourage sharing of emotional themes, sitting together in front of a console and screen facilitates a relationship and allows a safe path for the patient's conflict to emerge.
During video game play, the therapist may observe thought processes, impulsivity, temperament, decision-making, and sharing, among other aspects of a child's clinical presentation. Several features inherent to video games require a thoughtful approach as resistance and transference in therapy may be elaborated differently in comparison to more traditional toys. Familiarity with the video game content and its dynamics benefits child mental health clinicians in their efforts to help children and their families.
视频游戏在医学实践中被用于慢性病管理中的心理教育、物理治疗、创伤性脑损伤后的康复以及作为医疗程序或癌症化疗期间疼痛管理的辅助手段。在精神科实践中，视频游戏有助于发育迟缓儿童的社交技能训练和认知行为疗法（CBT）。这个最受欢迎的儿童玩具可能会成为青少年动态心理治疗的有用工具。
作者通过考虑视频游戏的特点，为在心理治疗中使用视频游戏提供了一个框架，并描述了其使用如何促进治疗过程各个阶段的方法。
就像其他游戏技术可以建立关系并鼓励分享情感主题一样，坐在控制台和屏幕前可以建立关系，并为患者的冲突提供一个安全的出口。
在视频游戏过程中，治疗师可以观察到孩子的思维过程、冲动、气质、决策和分享等方面的临床表现。视频游戏固有的几个特征需要深思熟虑的方法，因为与更传统的玩具相比，治疗中的抵抗和转移可能会以不同的方式详细阐述。熟悉视频游戏的内容和动态可以使儿童心理健康临床医生在帮助儿童及其家庭方面受益。
