Tetris Game Found to Reduce Trauma Flashbacks in Groundbreaking NHS Trial
A pioneering clinical trial has revealed that playing the classic computer game Tetris could help alleviate distressing memories of trauma. The study, conducted by researchers in the United Kingdom and Sweden, focused on healthcare workers who had been exposed to traumatic events during their duties.
Innovative Intervention for Trauma Memories
The treatment, known as imagery competing task intervention (ICTI), involves participants playing a deliberately slow version of Tetris while briefly recalling a traumatic memory. Following this, individuals are instructed to use their mind's eye to visualise the Tetris grid and imagine the falling blocks. This method is designed to occupy the brain's visuospatial processing areas, which are crucial for analysing physical space.
Professor Emily Holmes, a psychology expert at Uppsala University who led the research, explained the significance of the findings. "Even a single, fleeting intrusive memory of past trauma can exert a powerful impact in daily life by hijacking attention and leaving people at the mercy of unwanted and intrusive emotions," she stated. "By weakening the intrusive aspect of these sensory memories via this brief visual intervention, people experience fewer trauma images flashing back."
Trial Methodology and Results
The trial involved 99 NHS staff members who had witnessed traumatic incidents, such as deaths, during the Covid-19 pandemic. Among these participants, 40 received the ICTI treatment. The remaining individuals either listened to music by Mozart along with educational podcasts about the composer, or they received standard care protocols.
The results, published in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet Psychiatry, demonstrated that those who underwent the Tetris-based intervention experienced ten times fewer flashbacks compared to the other groups within just four weeks. Remarkably, after six months, approximately 70% of participants reported having no intrusive memories whatsoever. The treatment also showed effectiveness in addressing symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Expert Reactions and Future Applications
Professor Charlotte Summers, director of the Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart & Lung Research Institute and professor of intensive care medicine at the University of Cambridge, highlighted the importance of this discovery for healthcare professionals. "Every day, healthcare workers across the world are recurrently exposed to traumatic events in the course of their work, impacting the mental and physical wellbeing of those who care for us when we are unwell," she noted. "At a time when global healthcare systems remain under intense pressure, the discovery of a scalable digital intervention that promotes the wellbeing of health professionals experiencing work-related traumatic events is an exciting step forward."
The research team is now planning to expand their investigations to test ICTI on larger and more diverse population groups. They are also exploring the development of a non-guided version of the game to enhance accessibility. Professor Holmes emphasised the practical nature of the intervention, stating, "It is far more than just playing Tetris, and while it is simple to use, it's been a complicated process to refine and develop. The intervention focuses on our mental imagery, not words, and is designed to be as gentle, brief and practical as possible to fit into people's busy lives."
Broader Implications for Mental Health Treatment
Tayla McCloud, research lead for digital mental health at Wellcome, the organisation that funded the study, praised the intervention's potential. "These results are impressive for such a simple to use intervention. If we can get similarly strong results in bigger trials, this could have an enormous impact," she remarked. "It's rare to see something so accessible, scalable and adaptable across contexts. It doesn't require patients to put their trauma into words and even transcends language barriers. This study is a key example of why Wellcome is investing in a wide range of mental health interventions, so that in the future everyone will have access to treatments that work for them."
The findings represent a significant advancement in digital mental health therapies, offering a novel, non-verbal approach to managing trauma that could benefit individuals across various professions and life circumstances.
