Using therapeutic board games to promote child mental health

Playing for Resilience in a Pandemic; Exploring the Role of an Online Board Game in Recognising Resources

In the current climate of Covid-19 and world-wide social distancing, the mental health toll has been widely reported, with an expectation that the negative impact will last beyond the lockdowns. Facing the prospect of an unknown future and continuing challenges, resilience is both topical and necessary. With a call for digitally delivered interventions to help people affected by the pandemic, this study explores how playing an online positive psychology-informed board game supported people to recognise resources for resilience. Sixteen multi-national participants played in groups of 3-4 and qualitative data, collected via focus groups, was analysed using Thematic Analysis. Participants described a broadening of resources, primarily through reflecting on and remembering prior strategies and successes. Four themes are identified which, it is suggested, facilitated this in a sequential, upward spiral; the game mechanisms (release), psychological safety (reflect), meaningful conversations (remember) and anchoring of prior experiences (reuse). Critically, this study suggests that psychological safety may have been amplified by the online environment, which participants suggested enabled them to engage without interruption or inhibition. Additionally, whilst not part of the original intervention, the post-game reflection played an essential role in meaning-making and transferring learning into real-life. Future research into how online environments might not just facilitate but augment interventions is recommended. Finally, this study calls for further research into the impact of playful positive psychology interventions, suggesting a potential development of 'serious play' towards 'seriously positive play'.

Evaluating 'FREDA Challenge': a coproduced human rights board game in services for people with intellectual disabilities

BACKGROUND

A serious board game called 'FREDA Challenge' was co-produced with people with intellectual disabilities (PWID) as a tool for human rights (HR) education and increase positive attitudes towards HR in healthcare settings. The current study evaluated 'FREDA Challenge' with PWID and their carers.

METHOD

Eighteen PWID and 13 carers participated in a repeated measures design whereby changes in attitudes and knowledge of HR were measured.

RESULTS

Analysis revealed statistically significant differences (P = 0.02) between PWID and carers in their knowledge of HR. The same was not evident for attitudes towards HR. The positive attitudes and knowledge in the PWID group significantly increased after playing the game (P ≤ 0.02), but not for the carers/professionals group.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest that playing the board game can positively change the attitudes and knowledge of PWID towards HR. The board game seems to elicit positive interpersonal dynamics between PWID and carers/professionals.