The Use of Gamification in Social Phobia

Abstract

Social phobia usually starts in adolescence. Social situations that include meeting people, talking in groups, or in more specific situations are going to be avoided by individuals. Therefore, this condition has the consequence of significant impairment in different occupations. Recent studies show that gamification is commonly applied to interventions for the treatment of chronic diseases, and although there are interventions concerning mental health, these are few and there is evidence that these interventions have positive effects on mental health, particularly among young people. The desensitization therapy program using gamification consisted of 15 sessions: an initial assessment session, 13 biweekly exposure therapy sessions, and the last reevaluation session corresponding to a total duration of the program of seven weeks. Each session, lasting approximately 50 minutes, is followed a formal structure consisting of the following phases. The intervention focused on shaping appropriate approach behaviors through a process of successive approximations.