Understanding the Role of Psychological and Wellness-Oriented Games
September 2, 2026
Digital games can be used for entertainment, education, health promotion, and psychological purposes. However, not all games should be considered psychological interventions. According to Andrew et al. (2023), serious games have been investigated for health promotion among adolescents across areas such as healthy lifestyles and health-related behaviors. García-Redondo et al. (2021) identified serious games developed for awareness, prevention, detection, and therapy related to anxiety and depression among children and adolescents. Abd-alrazaq et al. (2022) reviewed 33 studies of serious games and found evidence of potential benefits for some anxiety-related interventions, although the quality of evidence was often low. Reynard et al. (2022) similarly found that digital games were the most common type of digital intervention studied for emotion regulation among children and early adolescents. These findings show that games can be studied as health-related tools, but their purpose and evidence must be considered before making claims about their effects.
Research on psychological games provides promising but limited evidence. According to Reynard et al. (2022), digital games produced a small significant reduction in negative emotional experiences in children and early adolescents, particularly among young people at risk of anxiety. However, their meta-analysis did not find a statistically significant improvement in self-reported emotion regulation. Abd-alrazaq et al. (2022) similarly found that some computerized cognitive behavioral therapy games and biofeedback games showed benefits for anxiety, but the evidence was considered low quality in several analyses. García-Redondo et al. (2021) found that serious games have been developed for different mental health applications, while Schoneveld et al. (2020) examined an applied game for children with elevated anxiety symptoms. Therefore, the research suggests potential benefits for some specifically designed games, but it does not mean that every digital game has therapeutic effects.
The games on MindTrack should therefore be described specifically as interactive wellness activities, rather than as clinical psychological treatments. Shape Matching, Shape Sorting, Thought Dash, Color Pyramid, Color Snap, and Rainbow Runner involve activities such as visual recognition, sorting, matching, attention, color identification, and responding to changing game elements. These activities can provide students with an enjoyable interactive break, but the website should not claim that completing them diagnoses, treats, or cures anxiety, depression, stress, or another mental health condition. This distinction is consistent with the research of Andrew et al. (2023), Reynard et al. (2022), Abd-alrazaq et al. (2022), and García-Redondo et al. (2021), all of which demonstrate that the effects of games depend heavily on their purpose, design, population, and evaluation.
It is also important to avoid automatically connecting games with changes in cortisol. According to Abd-alrazaq et al. (2022), the serious-game literature includes different interventions, populations, comparison groups, and outcome measures. Reynard et al. (2022) also noted substantial methodological differences and limitations in the digital-intervention literature. Andrew et al. (2023) reported considerable variation in game design, duration, control conditions, and measured outcomes across studies of serious games for adolescents. García-Redondo et al. (2021) likewise emphasized the need for more standardized development and evaluation of mental-health-related games. Because MindTrack does not measure students’ cortisol levels before and after playing its games, it would not be scientifically appropriate to state that the website’s games lower cortisol.
The possible role of a wellness game is better understood as one activity within a broader approach to well-being. Reynard et al. (2022) found that digital games may reduce negative emotional experiences in some youth, while Abd-alrazaq et al. (2022) concluded that serious games should be considered complementary to existing interventions. Andrew et al. (2023) emphasized that serious games have potential for health promotion but that the evidence varies across different game designs and outcomes. García-Redondo et al. (2021) also identified the need for further standardized evaluation of mental-health-related games. Therefore, MindTrack’s games can be presented as optional interactive activities that may provide enjoyment, engagement, or a short break, while students should still be encouraged to use other healthy coping strategies and seek appropriate support when needed.
References
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. https://doi.org/10.2196/29137
Andrew, L., Barwood, D., Boston, J., Masek, M., Bloomfield, L., & Devine, A. (2023). Serious games for health promotion in adolescents: A systematic scoping review. Education and Information Technologies, 28, 5519–5550. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-022-11414-9
García-Redondo, P., García, T., & otros. (2021). Awareness, prevention, detection, and therapy applications for depression and anxiety in serious games for children and adolescents: Systematic review. JMIR Serious Games. https://doi.org/10.2196/8724
Reynard, S., Dias, J., Mitic, M., Schrank, B., & Woodcock, K. A. (2022). Digital interventions for emotion regulation in children and early adolescents: Systematic review and meta-analysis. JMIR Serious Games, 10(3), e31456. https://doi.org/10.2196/31456
Schoneveld, E. A., Wols, A., Lichtwarck-Aschoff, A., Otten, R., & Granic, I. (2020). Mental health outcomes of an applied game for children with elevated anxiety symptoms: A randomized controlled non-inferiority trial. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 29, 2169–2185. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-020-01789-7
