[Deutsche Version]

The relationship between games and mental health is being discussed from many different perspectives, including: Are games helpful or harmful to our mental health? Can they be effectively used in psychotherapy? Do video games lead to addiction or aggression? How can video game addiction be treated? How is mental health portrayed in games, and what effects does this portrayal have on players and society?

These questions are also central to us at Behind the Screens. As psychologists, we aim to address these topics in a nuanced and scientifically grounded way. On this page, we collect relevant resources for everyone who is interested.

Image: Duru, Twisted Ramble Games

Our English podcast episodes on the topic

  • Vampire Therapist – Podcast E098
  • (Our podcast is primarily in German, but we will add more English episodes in the future! Tell us if you’d like more English episodes – and stay tuned!)

Frameworks und other useful scientific perspectives on the representation of mental health in games

  • Dunlap, K., & Kowert, R. (2021). Mental health in 3D: A dimensional model of mental illness representation in digital games. Loading, 14(24), 122-133. doi.org/10.7202/1084842ar
  • Simond, S. H. (2023). Pixelated madness: The construction of mental illnesses and psychiatric institutions in video games. Verlag Werner Hülsbusch. (Free PDF)

Games

The following list offers a selection of games that portray mental health topics or have been designed as a ‘serious game’ for psychotherapy and related purposes. It is not a recommendation list, but aims to show the diversity and multitude of games that represent these topics. More games are added continuously.

Serious Games that have been designed for psychotherapy
  • Personal Investigator
  • Pesty gNATs
  • Ricky and the Spider (University of Zurich)
  • Treasure Hunt (University of Zurich)
  • SPARX
Entertainment games that portray mental health topics
Depression
  • Actual Sunlight
  • Blueberry*
  • Celeste
  • Depression Quest
  • Duru (site header picture)
  • GRIS
  • I feel so lost
  • Into A Dream
  • Lucid Dream
  • Sea of Solitude
  • Shady Part of Me
  • The Cat Lady
  • The Forest Quartet
  • The Last Campfire
  • The Whispered World
  • The White Door
  • Tomorrow don’t come
Dementia
  • A Long Goodbye
  • Before I Forget
  • Deck of Memories
Eating Disorders
  • Consume me
Fear
  • A Day in the Life of Asocial Giraffe
  • Adventures with Anxiety
  • Fearbonding
  • Figment
  • Figment 2
  • The Perfect Pencil
Grief / Loss
  • Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
  • Closer the Distance
  • Finding Paradise
  • Fishbowl
  • Lost Ember
  • Pine: A Story of Loss
  • Rakuen
  • Spiritfarer
  • The Last Campfire
  • To the Moon
  • What Comes After
  • What Remains of Edith Finch
  • Year of the Cicadas
Mindscapes
  • Psychonauts
  • Psychonauts 2
  • This Strange Realm of Mine
Trauma / PTSD & Dissociation
  • Blueberry*
  • Double
  • Frame of Thought
  • Fran Bow
  • iNERTiA
  • The Town of Light
  • The White Door
  • Ugly
Psychiatry, Psychotherapy und professionals
  • Alice: Madness Returns
  • Arctic Awakening
  • Blueberry*
  • Die Anstalt: Psychiatrie für misshandelte Kuscheltiere (German only)
  • Edna & Harvey: The Breakout
  • Edna & Harvey: Harvey’s New Eyes
  • ELIZA
  • Fran Bow
  • Grand Theft Auto V
  • In Sound Mind
  • The Town of Light
  • Double
  • Wolfenstein: The New Order
Psychosis
  • Disco Elysium
  • Edna & Harvey: The Breakout
  • Edna & Harvey: Harvey’s New Eyes
  • Fran Bow
  • Far Cry 3
  • Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
  • Hellblade: Senua’s Saga
  • Layers of Fear
  • Mindlock: The Apartment
  • Psychotic Bathtub
  • What Remains of Edith Finch
Substance addiction
  • Blueberry*
  • Disco Elysium
Other / Several / not specified
  • and Roger
  • To the Moon (Autism)
  • Batman: Arkham Asylum
  • Mind Scanner
  • Misgiven

… Any games that should be added to the list? Let us know! kontakt@behind-the-screens.de

* We did consulting for this game

Scientific articles

The following list is meant to be used as a starting point for further research. It primarily lists articles we discuss in our talks and workshops. More scientific articles are linked in our podcast episodes on the respective topic; see above for the English episodes and below for a list of the German episodes (with English translations of the titles).

Please keep in mind that individual scienitific articles should always be interpreted and discussed within the broader context of the related research landscape. Meta-analyses are suitable for these purposes and are included below, too.

Abd-Alrazaq, A., Alajlani, M., Alhuwail, D., Schneider, J., Akhu-Zaheya, L., Ahmed, A., & Househ, M. (2022). The effectiveness of serious games in alleviating anxiety: systematic review and meta-analysis. JMIR serious games, 10(1), e29137.

Abd-Alrazaq, A., Al-Jafar, E., Alajlani, M., Toro, C., Alhuwail, D., Ahmed, A., … & Househ, M. (2022). The effectiveness of serious games for alleviating depression: systematic review and meta-analysis. JMIR serious games, 10(1), e32331.

Allen, J. J., & Anderson, C. A. (2018). Satisfaction and frustration of basic psychological needs in the real world and in video games predict internet gaming disorder scores and well-being. Computers in Human Behavior, 84, 220-229.

Brezinka, V. (2013). Ricky and the Spider — A video game to support cognitive behavioral treatment of children with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Clinical Neuropsychiatry, 10(3).

Cahill, T. J., Cummings, J. J., & Wertz, E. (2025). Motivations for the use of games in coping and emotional regulation. Frontiers in Communication, 10, 1585586.

Coyle, D., Doherty, G., & Sharry, J. (2009). An evaluation of a solution focused computer game in adolescent interventions. Clinical child psychology and psychiatry, 14(3), 345-360.

Dias, L. P. S., Barbosa, J. L. V., & Vianna, H. D. (2018). Gamification and serious games in depression care: A systematic mapping study. Telematics and Informatics, 35(1), 213-224.

Ferchaud, A., Seibert, J., Sellers, N., & Escobar Salazar, N. (2020). Reducing mental health stigma through identification with video game avatars with mental illness. Frontiers in psychology, 11, 2240.

Fleming, T. M., Bavin, L., Stasiak, K., Hermansson-Webb, E., Merry, S. N., Cheek, C., … & Hetrick, S. (2017). Serious games and gamification for mental health: current status and promising directions. Frontiers in psychiatry, 7, 215.

Fleming, T., Cheek, C., Merry, S., Thabrew, H., Bridgman, H., Stasiak, K., … & Hetrick, S. (2014). Serious games for the treatment or prevention of depression: a systematic review. Revista de Psicopatología y Psicología Clínica, 19(3), 227-242.

Hodent, C. (2020). The psychology of video games. Routledge.

Iyadurai, L., Blackwell, S. E., Meiser-Stedman, R., Watson, P. C., Bonsall, M. B., Geddes, J. R., … & Holmes, E. A. (2018). Preventing intrusive memories after trauma via a brief intervention involving Tetris computer game play in the emergency department: a proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial. Molecular psychiatry, 23(3), 674-682.

Merry, S. N., Stasiak, K., Shepherd, M., Frampton, C., Fleming, T., & Lucassen, M. F. (2012). The effectiveness of SPARX, a computerised self help intervention for adolescents seeking help for depression: randomised controlled non-inferiority trial. Bmj, 344.

Pine, R., Fleming, T., McCallum, S., & Sutcliffe, K. (2020). The Effects of Casual Videogames on Anxiety, Depression, Stress, and Low Mood: A Systematic Review. GAMES FOR HEALTH JOURNAL: Research, Development, and Clinical Applications, 9(4).

Poppelaars, M., Lichtwarck-Aschoff, A., Otten, R., & Granic, I. (2021). Can a commercial video game prevent depression? Null results and whole sample action mechanisms in a randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in psychology, 11, 575962.

Rehbein, F., Gentile, D. A., Lemmens, J., & Rumpf, H. J. (2024). Structural game characteristics and problematic gaming. Sucht.

Russoniello, C. V., Fish, M., & O’Brien, K. (2013). The efficacy of casual videogame play in reducing clinical depression: a randomized controlled study. Games for Health Journal, 2(6), 341-346.

Rüth, M., Bachmayer, R., & Kaspar, K. (2025). Learning about depression by watching gaming videos: a case study on the potential of digital games for psychoeducation and destigmatization. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1585571.

Ryan, R. M., Rigby, C. S., & Przybylski, A. (2006). The motivational pull of video games: A self-determination theory approach. Motivation and emotion, 30(4), 344-360.

Strobel, B. (2020). Communitys. In: O. Zimmermann & F. Falk (Eds.). Handbuch Gameskultur: Über die Kulturwelten von Games. Deutscher Kulturrat eV.

Vuorre, M., Ballou, N., Hakman, T., Magnusson, K., & Przybylski, A. K. (2024). Affective uplift during video game play: A naturalistic case study. ACM Games: Research and Practice, 2(3), 1-14.

Vuorre, M., Johannes, N., Magnusson, K., & Przybylski, A. K. (2022). Time spent playing video games is unlikely to impact well-being. Royal Society open science, 9(7), 220411.

Our German podcast episodes (with links to more scientific articles)