The potential of video games for mental health The wide breadth of video game use could be considered by counselors as a potential opening to engage with clients. According to an American Psychological Association (APA) article published in American Psychologist titled “The Benefits of Playing Video Games,” 97 percent of American youth played one hour of video games a day in 2014. However, children are now as likely to be playing online as they are outside. Children must then learn to cooperate, as well as focus on the details. Consider students placed on a team, and each is given a model to reconstruct with a prize promised for the fastest and most accurately built.Playing games might also have a therapeutic calming effect or skills teaching element (depending on the setting): The conditions of the game - its rules and motivations - may be able to produce reactions that can be analyzed in context of treatment. When this enthusiasm is directed toward a game (either a board game, one without props or the virtual kind seen today), mental health professionals can observe interactions and behaviors in different contexts, which might be able to help improve their overall understanding of a client. When disarmed during play, children are unencumbered by normal pressures and allowed to freely express themselves. Play therapy, as it can be applied in child counseling, offers a real glimpse into a child’s state of mind.
A guide to using games in counseling was published by Personnel and Guidance Journal in 1975. Game theory has been present in counseling methodology for some time. Gamification, as an enhancement to counseling, is only really starting to gain a hold in mental health counseling, so counselors must be exceptionally careful when using such methods. Now often deployed by companies in the form of training programs on subjects like workplace regulations, gamification is the application of game structures (points, motor skills, competition) to an otherwise routine process in working or personal life, usually realized in the form of a computer game or a relatable medium. Gamification is one emerging trend that counselors can experiment with to reach tech-savvy clients. Technology has been thought of as a detractor to healthy living in some respects, but there is potential for it to be leveraged by mental health counselors in emerging ways to engage with clients. But there’s no age restriction on technology use, and mental health professionals are increasingly seeing all types of clients discuss online use and how it may affect their well-being. This shift creates both problems and opportunities when counseling individuals especially beholden to their smartphone or the latest app, particularly children and adolescents. Technology and internet use is now ingrained in basic daily functions.
And play games like “The Itsy-Bitsy Spider” to teach him how to work his hands in tandem.Technologic breakthroughs in the 21st century have touched nearly every process and augmented basic human behaviors and interactions. Have him try threading big beads or rigatoni pasta with yarn. As your toddler’s dexterity improves, encourage him to use both hands to do new tasks. If she makes a mess or struggles, resist jumping in to help-let her try to figure it out on her own. Have your child start using a fork and spoon at every meal. Big crayons are best for little hands, but you can also give him large pieces of chalk and finger-paints to express himself. Most kids can make a mark with a crayon at around 15 months and scribble by age 2. Once she gets the hang of it, you can switch to smaller building materials-but hold off on interlocking bricks until she’s at least 2. Large wooden ones are easiest for toddlers to manipulate. Let the stacking begin! Your child needs hand and wrist stability to place blocks with control.Other ways to boost grip and finger strength: squeezing a wet sponge or looking for toys that are buried in sand. While this activity may seem dull, it takes integrated muscle movements, concentration, and cognitive reasoning. Your toddler will likely load every toy possible into a plastic bin-only to spill it out and start over. Embrace his filling and dumping obsession.You can also give her toys that have dials, switches, and knobs. To help your child learn to pick up small items like Cheerios using her thumb and forefinger, stuff an empty baby-wipe container with scarves, and then let her try to pull them out.