Mental health care in virtual worlds

An academic paper out of Italy and the Netherlands describes "immersive e-therapy," a hybrid therapy in clinical psychology that occurs in both virtual-world and physical-world settings. Authors Alessandra Gorini, Andrea Gaggioli, and Cinzia Vigna "suggest that, compared with conventional telehealth applications such as emails, chat, and videoconferences, the interaction between real and 3-D virtual worlds may convey greater feelings of presence, facilitate the clinical communication process, positively influence group processes and cohesiveness in group-based therapies, and foster higher levels of interpersonal trust between therapists and patients." They also look at "challenges related to the potentially addictive nature of such virtual worlds" and "questions related to privacy and personal safety."

AMA on 'game addiction'

The American Medical Association is looking into whether videogame play can become an “addiction.” The AMA has released “an extremely readable” but “cautious” report summarizing the current “state of knowledge” on the subject, ArsTechnica reports. “In terms of ‘gaming addiction,’ the report suggests that it is likely to be a subset of internet addiction, as it most frequently occurs in players of MMORPGs [massively multiplayer online role-playing games]. In both of these addictions, the current definition is currently informal - the described symptoms actually most closely resemble pathological gambling, rather than an addiction. In either case, the report notes, ‘there is currently insufficient research to definitively conclude that video game overuse is an addiction’." ArsTechnica links to the report. (See also “Notable fresh videogame findings.”) Meanwhile, a Wired News blog reports that a new study entitled "Report of the Council on Science and Public Health: Emotional and Behavioral Effects, Including Addictive Potential, of Video Games," co-authored by Mohamed K. Khan, MD, Phd, is urging the AMA to recognize videogame addiction as a disorder. And Dow Jones reports that the AMA has taken steps in that direction.