Family Intervention Therapy
Games are an enchanting approach to building a therapeutic relationship while treating a person suffering from substance abuse addiction. Besides adding a therapeutic twist to the game, playing Twister can help improve an addict’s emotions and social skills (Clifford, 2019). In this family intervention therapy, we will use the “Twister” game to work with adolescents and families regarding substance abuse. The purpose of the Twister game in a family setting is to treat substance abuse and addiction in a therapeutic way that indulges everyone involved. Whereas Twister can be easy-going by writing on individual loops or pigment coding the rotator, there is a need to reflect on its adaptability, evaluation, and overall goals in the treatment of substance abuse addiction.
Twister is a game that complements family intervention therapy for various reasons. Besides being supplemental to interventional treatment, Twister demonstrates discrimination between feelings and thoughts, right and left side of the body, motorized planning skills, and balance. For a family setting to play the game, the following items are necessary: Twister game mat, spinner device, a game moderator who spins the wheel, and many involved to make it fun (Liana, 2011). After assembling necessary items, the family members must observe the following rules: The first participant to seize a spot on the Twister game mat claims the swill, and then participants continue to play until someone gives up. When playing the Twister game, every foot and hand must be on the spot on the mat. Even though the body connects both the hand and foot, various feelings and thoughts can be illustrated differently. According to Jarvinen (2007), therapists in the family setting can create the ‘spots’ using painted paper. This game engages all participants, thus enabling them to share their experiences in life effectively.
The theories of Twister highlight the functions of game systems as implementors of social cohesiveness and interaction. In that sense, the first theory offers a conceptual difference in the game’s design to engage all participants in the family setting (Kelly, 2017). The next approach signifies the Twister game’s behavioral elements to understand the players holistically. The use of the Twister game in this family intervention therapy aims to achieve specific goals. The first goal is to assess the effect of drugs or alcohol on self, family, work, health, and other relationships. The next goal is to provide a common platform whereby each person participating can share their experiences. Also, the game aims to share more life experiences with those who have less experience recovering from substance abuse. Lastly, the Twister game seeks to understand the triggers of group members and identify specific areas in which participants require support (Martins, 2018). Furthermore, the Twister game engages participants either cognitively or emotionally. Many times, emotional and cognitive encounter necessitates self-forgetting.
In conclusion, game mechanics like Twister connect behavioral elements to systemic mechanics. The systemic mechanics involves a person’s surroundings as well as the social setting based on different substance abuse cases. The primary purpose of the game is to create an interaction mechanism between players that helps them share experiences and help them recover from substance abuse addiction. At the end of the game, players will have participated in a fun game that does not indulge in sharing one’s privacy. On the contrary, players feel more confident as they can uniquely identify each others’ weaknesses, thus offering the needed support. Therapists across diverse regions of the globe have approved these therapeutic games as they provide a better response in terms of addict’s recovery. All in all, conceptualizing a player’s involvement in the game offers a platform for behavioral engagement and communication.
References
Clifford, J. (2019). Occupational therapy for persons suffering from substance abuse addiction.
Jarvinen, A. (2007). Games without frontiers: Theories and methods for game studies and design.
Kelly, G. (2017). Twister game: The ultimate family therapeutic intervention.
Liana, L. (2011). Favorite therapeutic games for a family setting.
Martins, K. (2018). Using games in therapy: Twister game.