A board game is considered a general term that includes the process of placing, moving, or removing pieces on the board. The main format of such a task is a game in which pieces are moved in a certain way on a board marked with a template. Board game therapy helps expand and develop broad cognitive abilities such as reasoning, understanding, memory, and information processing speed, which is especially useful for an addicted group of patients.
The board game therapy would consist of several activities, which will be targeted at improving educational knowledge and cognitive functions for children and adolescents who have already suffered from substance abuse. The first activity is chess; two players will play on a board with 64 black and white squares and 16 pieces for each player, contributing to cognitive psychology’s theoretical development (Noda et al., 2019). As evidenced, practicing such activity for the targeted population will improve reasoning, understanding and knowledge, short-term memory, and processing speed (Noda et al., 2019). The activity ‘Go’ consists of simple elements and is a board game for two players, also called Japanese chess. Engaging in this game will help substance abuse patients activate the caudate nucleus in the head and alleviate the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and worry (Noda et al., 2019). Lastly, being active in the Kalèdo game will help improve children’s nutrition knowledge and promote a healthy lifestyle. Therefore, a program based on board games will positively impact the target population.
Described therapy aims to improve their educational background, cognitive function, physical activity, anxiety, symptoms, and substance abuse severity. As a result of the analysis of the resource, it was proven that board game therapy improves interpersonal interactions and motivation of participants, as well as promotes learning. A body of peer-reviewed evidence suggests that board games may be an effective adjunctive therapy to promote recovery and relief from clinical symptoms of substance abuse.
Reference
Noda, S., Shirotsuki, K., & Nakao, M. (2019). The effectiveness of intervention with board games: a systematic review. BioPsychoSocial Medicine, 13(1). Web.