Could mobile gaming reduce someone’s depression symptoms by reducing negative thoughts? A new study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research suggests that it can, as long as it involves the right game.
Based on a decade of research, scientists at Harvard University have developed an app that focuses on breaking cycles of ruminative thinking, a key contributor to depression. The study by Professor Moshe Bar and colleagues finds that users of the app experience significant, lasting improvements in mood after multiple gaming sessions.
“After demonstrating in the laboratory the striking effect of facilitating thought progression on mood, we now reveal that implementing this neuroscience-based approach in a digital app can provide a most viable path for the alleviation of depression symptoms,” reported Bar.
Depression: A Worldwide Challenge
Depression affects around 5% of individuals worldwide, according to WHO, with one of its most stubborn symptoms being ruminative thinking—the repetitive cycle of negative thoughts that can worsen mood and amplify depressive symptoms.
“The constant rise in the prevalence of major depressive disorder calls for new, effective, and accessible interventions that can rapidly and effectively reach a wide range of audiences,” the researchers note in their paper.
While traditional therapy and medication are effective for many, experts have also been investigating additional approaches to help individuals manage this challenging aspect of depression.
For Bar, a solution may lie in facilitating flexible thought progression to counter depressive thinking. His research shows that encouraging individuals to break habitual thought cycles can improve mood and mental flexibility, leading to a decrease in overall depressive symptoms.
Translating this concept into a digital format, Bar and his team have created a mobile app designed to disrupt these negative patterns through interactive mini-games.
Combatting Negative Thoughts With a Mobile Game
Thanks to their work developing the new mobile game, the study became the first large-scale, randomized controlled trial to test a gamified approach to mental health treatment. Conducted over eight weeks at Massachusetts General Hospital, the trial involved participants assigned either to use the app or continue without it.
The app consists of five mini-games, each structured to engage the mind in positive, thought-disrupting activities. By targeting and interrupting meditative cycles, the games encourage users to move away from repetitive, negative thoughts and toward a more flexible and positive mental state.
Throughout the study, participants using the app saw faster and more substantial improvements in their depressive symptoms than the control group. Weekly clinician evaluations indicated consistent progress, with app users reporting noticeable mood and thought pattern changes.
“The results indicate that across multiple clinical measurements, participants in the intervention group who played the gamified app showed greater and faster improvement in depressive symptoms compared with their waitlist control counterparts,” the researchers wrote in their paper.
Not only did the app provide immediate benefits, but the researchers also found that its benefits extended beyond the study’s duration. Four weeks after participants stopped using the app, many continued to experience reduced depressive symptoms, suggesting a potential for lasting impact.
How Games Could Help Tackle Depression
By gamifying mental health treatment, this app introduces a novel, engaging, and science-backed approach to combating depression. The app could become a powerful supplement to traditional therapies, especially for individuals who struggle with severe ruminative thinking.
The researchers also noted that the app could help make mental health treatments more accessible, as it is free to use, and individuals don’t have to travel to use it, as they may have to use it for other depression treatment methods.
Expanding Digital Mental Health Solutions
As mental health needs grow worldwide, digital interventions like this app may become increasingly important. This study’s success suggests a possible solution to treating specific symptoms of depression in an accessible and easy-to-use way. Future studies may explore other aspects of mental health that could benefit from similar interventions, such as anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry is the Science Communicator at JILA (a world-leading physics research institute) and a science writer at The Debrief. Follow and connect with her on X or contact her via email at kenna@thedebrief.org