"Millions of people suffering from psychological distress fail to seek or receive mental health services. A key factor here is that many evidence-based treatments are burdensome -- time consuming, expensive, difficult to access, and perceived as stigmatizing," says lead researcher Tracy Dennis of Hunter College.
The treatment involves training patients to ignore a threatening stimulus and to focus instead on a non-threatening stimulus. This type of treatment has been used and proven to reduce anxiety and stress.
The study consisted of 75 patients who which some were asked to play the game for either 25 or 45 minutes. They were then asked to give a speech on videotape.
The game has patients follow two characters and their paths as quickly and accurately as possible.
The patients who played the game were less nervous and had less negative feelings when videotaped compared to the group that did not play.
Although it is unclear how helpful the app could be in the long run, researchers are hopeful to be able to create apps like these to help other mental health illnesses.
A few mental health apps are already available, below is a discussion about the future of mental health apps as treatment for patients.
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