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‘Leveling Up’ is one of the oldest concepts in video game history, especially with the old school cartridges: in the Mega Man series, you’d gain points as well as a new weapon every time you killed a boss-Man; with Altered Beast and the Mario Brothers franchise, you’d level up by growing exponentially bigger, making it that much easier to kill your enemy.
Now the National Veterans Association is using gaming concepts more and more to help returning soldiers deal with PTSD.
Kelli Dunlap, a mental health expert and research fellow from the American Psychological Association, is utilizing various gaming concepts to help veterans adapt a more positive outlook and approach to their recovery. According to The Washington Post, much in the way that a player ‘levels up’ in a game and makes progress by accomplishing certain goals, the
‘boss’ in this sense is their own trauma, and the goal is a clearer constructive (and cognitive) approach to getting better. “It’s about giving yourself some kind of way to make it through without getting bogged down,” says Dunlap, “as opposed to something big and terrible.”
Ms. Dunlap reports that one of the biggest obstacles veterans/other PTSD-sufferers face while trying to heal is that of motivation. “Video games (motivate) really, really well and keep you trying, even though you know what you’re doing is really difficult.” She’s not exaggerating: According to her initial testing periods, the first big obstacle was simply getting her patients to show up.
As the days progress, test subjects face increasingly difficult weekly challenges — and are given rewards for every successful completion. While other veteran recovery programs tend to be problem-focused, however, Dunlap consistently inserts positive and practical goals along the way to encourage her patients. Both gaming community Twitch and hardware company Alienware have rewarded Dunlap’s efforts with extensive grants and funding for her research. Says Matthew DiPietro, Twitch’s vice president of marketing, “Kelli was particularly interesting because she’s doing interesting things with higher-ed and academics, applying the gaming world to larger psychological questions.”
Much like outspoken gaming advocate Jane McGonigol, Dunlap believes that gaming’s positive aspects outweigh its negative ones — and if anything, it can make for a great recovery aid for those looking to better themselves. So far, Dunlap’s approach and outlook seem to be generating big success: “I was nervous because it was new for them, but they picked it up wherever I led them,” concludes Dunlap.
Jeff Nau – who has written 1264 posts on The Jace Hall Show.
Jeff Nau is a main contributor to the Jace Hall Show covering pop culture and music trends in the nerd community. He has contributed to San Diego City Beat, 944, and Ill Literature, amongst others, and spends his spare time working as an artist and photographer.

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