A Review of Gamification Related to Mental Health Treatment

Abstract

Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community. Mental health conditions include mental disorders, psychosocial disabilities, and other mental states associated with significant distress, impairment in functioning, or risk of self-harm. According to research, about 20% of population in Indonesia potentially suffer mental illness. This is especially saddening as the lack of professional psychiatrist in Indonesia is not sufficient to handle all the cases in Indonesia. Another obstacle is not limited to only the lack of human resources such as trained professional, but also limited health facility and financial coverage for mental health treatment. On the other hand, most Indonesians may not be able to afford the help of professionals. People with mental health conditions are more likely to experience lower levels of mental well-being. A study found that a co-occurring mental health disorder was strongly associated with higher resources for the treatment will be used and an increased cost of care for patient. Meanwhile other method such as relaxing application with the goal to relax the state of mind has been proven to be effective as a mental health intervention in alternative to counseling by psychologists or mental therapy such as hypnotherapy. This paper aims to summarize and review the current knowledge regarding gamified treatment as an alternative to mental health treatment and how it affects mental health.