Video Games and Games in Therapy

Video Games and Games in Therapy
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In the recent years, video games have found their way into the medical use and this is common in clinical care of the youth. This has therefore, raised much academic interest in the field. Due to their popularity among the youths, they may qualify as appropriate approaches to therapy among children and adolescents but also proving effective among adults. An increasing number of health professional are becoming interested in innovative and cost effective methods of therapy. It includes incorporation of serious games in therapy CITATION Kal12 \l 1033 (Kalapanidas, 2012).
Data bases reviews reveal that out of a total of 1,474 reports on video games, 1,121 were published only in the last decade. The most common clinical uses for video games reported include are psychoeducation in management of chronic diseases to increase treatment adherence and physical therapy and rehabilitation after a traumatic brain injury CITATION Cer10 \l 1033 (Ceranoglu, 2010). They also serve as adjuncts in the management of pain during medical procedures, induction of anesthesia, or Chemotherapy in cancer CITATION Cer10 \l 1033 (Ceranoglu, 2010).
The repeatability attribute of video games compared to other forms of games has proved useful in the development of manual-based therapeutic interventions similar to the ones utilized in cognitive-behavioral therapy. In the area of group therapy, it has been proved useful in treating distress among the youths and also facilitates the stage of moral development CITATION Cer10 \l 1033 (Ceranoglu, 2010). Other games have been used to develop social skills among children with developmental disorders. They provide virtual environments allowing the individual to control an avatar using the relevant external hardware and through this environment the player rehearses social and problem solving skills learned CITATION Cer10 \l 1033 (Ceranoglu, 2010).
The progress of science and technology has also revolutionized the methods of providing occupational therapy across all ages. The development of a Virtual world in the gaming world has occasioned the development of virtual rehabilitation that provides unique treatment methods. CITATION Hal08 \l 1033 (Halton, 2008)
This is using virtual reality (VR) and virtual environments (VE) in rehabilitation to provide a natural or real-life environment and individuals forget of their surrounding and focus on the task within the simulated environment CITATION Hal08 \l 1033 (Halton, 2008). For example, in November 2006, Nintendo a video game company released the Wii game console that is based upon the wireless controller (Wii Remote) that utilizes accelerometers in three axes and an infra-red sensory bar that recognizes environmental gestures. This is utilized as a general treatment in occupational therapy as regular treatment in adults with client and occupational therapists reports being positive CITATION Hal08 \l 1033...