Literature Review: The Use of Games as a Treatment for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Abstract

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a chronic disease stated by United Nations as one of the 10 most disabling illnesses and key factor in decreased quality of life. It affects millions of people around the world, reaching a population equivalent of countries like Germany or Mexico. One of most used and effective treatment is Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) but, its failure rate can be as high as 30%. Games have been greatly incorporated to everyday lives of millions of people, and because of that, are becoming a useful tool to help in healthcare - becoming what is called Games for Health (GfH). This literature review seeks to research academic papers that demonstrate the use of games to treat OCD - as games standalone or in conjunction with CBT. The main objectives of this literature review are to summarize the previous published works and to gather base knowledge in the area for future research developments.