Focus Groups with Milton Keynes Mind and the Richmond Fellowship on the use of Serious Games to Help People with Depression - 21st October 2010 and 25th October 2010, Acorn House, Milton Keynes
Focus Group Held with MK Mind and Richmond Fellowship: 21st October 2010, 1pm -3pm Introduction from DH with overview of his background and the rationale for the project.
DH explained the reason for the focus group and KC expressed her view that it would be a useful tool for her to use within her work. KC also believes that Psychological Education through media such as a computer game would be a useful approach.
Age range – KC suggested that in terms of scenarios, age played a part. Lots of discussion around younger people (university, transitions, pressures, etc.) and differences between genders.
Gender difference – women talk to friends about things / men don’t (generally)
People who aren’t able to express feelings can become abusive / depressed / angry / etc.
Affairs / third person within a relationship
Choice and control
Transitions
Workplace issues
Significant life changes (leaving home, having children, etc.)
Relationships (loss of identity, coming second to children, etc.)
Live in the now, rather than negatively in past / future.
Advice offered by KC
Depression NOT an illness, but a signal that something needs to change to prevent further damage.
Have to support people in both learning to recognise signals and then listen to them and take action.
Explain and explore what has led to the signals showing – the emotional brain takes over from the thinking brain.
Use of accessible language (e.g. ‘good mood chemical’ rather than ‘serotonin’)
Physiological explanation – what actually happens biologically when depressed – chemical reactions based upon human evolution
Cortizone levels / seratonin levels – if constantly pressured, cortizone levels increase and don’t reeturn to normal levels, leading to a tipping point. Reducing cortizone levels essential in managing.
When cortizone levels high, hyper sensitivity, not thinking clearly etc.
Relaxation techniques / breathing exercises / etc can help reduce cortizone levels.
Have to be at a reasonable level of cortizone / emotional arousal to engage in a process of change / improvement.
Links between light and seratonin (e.g. Seasonal Affective Disorder). Useful info with regard to the amount of light units in different settings:
In a house 50 units per hour
Outside (gloomy) 7000 units per hour
Outside (sunny) 20000 units per hour
Importance of getting outside – increased light equals increased serotonin.
Ecotherapy also useful – being in ‘countryside’ can lift mood (micro-organisms).
‘Don’t come to me – talk to a tree’!
Sleeplessness is a clear sign that things aren’t good – a signal to be heard and listened to.
Dreams = factory processing emotions. If too many emotions, unable to process (as uses up glucose) and become wakeful. Unable to reach deep sleep, where again serotonin is made.
Write down issues prior to going to sleep to put to one side.
Diet and exercise. Fresh fruit and vegetables = relaxation chemicals. Omega 3 = serotonin.
Chocolate = dopamine.
Human Givens elements.
Focus Group Held with MK Mind and Richmond Fellowship: 25th October 2010, 6pm -7pm
Introduction from DH with overview of his background and the rationale for the project.
From the focus group it was agreed by SM and JM that one of the main triggers of depression are low self worth and in teenagers that could be self body image as some teenagers may develop more quickly than others, i.e. height. It was suggested that the scenarios could be generic in that you will have common threads that would be applicable to other non-specific situations, for example, juggling workload can also be applied to juggling home tasks. SM and JM suggest that bullying has also been identified as a trigger to depression and this can be the case in education and in the workplace. Another trigger that has been identified is exam pressure that can cause depression, this was also suggested in the previous focus group by KH (21
The effects of these sorts of triggers can lead to sleeplessness, anger, sadness and anxiety. It was also pointed out by DH that the game is not intended to replace approaches such as counselling or exercise but is intended to be a tool in a possible suite of treatments that can be used to treat the sufferer. st October 2010). It was also suggested that young people are forced to make decisions at too early an age to decide their career path which places them under pressure when they do not necessarily have to go in a certain direction in their careers, however, pressures from schools, parents and general expectations. JM identified that work load can also lead to depression. With ‘a buckaroo effect’ taking place where the patient can be so overloaded with work they just explode. Furthermore, it was suggested by JM that depression can be regarded as a spiral effect going down and what is needed is the spiral effect to go upward.
Possible Strategies To Help Lift the Depression A way to help treat the depression is to looking at their situation and rationalise about the causes of their depression. SF suggested that the use of ‘mindfulness’ (focusing on what they are doing). SM gave an example, of using a jelly bean, where the patient focuses on how it looks, feels, smells and tastes. This is intended to help people distract the mind. It was, however, pointed out that the person who is using this technique needs to have the motivation to apply it. In some cases some patients may not be ready to use such a technique. It was also suggested that Peer Support can be used to help people with depression. Another approach to treatment is to look at the positives, for example, achievements in life. Also possibly explaining that although you are in a particular situation in one moment time this will not necessarily always be the case in the future, an example of this give was Acne in teenagers.
Both SM and JM said they would use the game in their counselling sessions.
