Video Game Healers Come to Life With House of Healers
Ever wish for your favorite video game healers to also heal you in real life?
Health-ed start-up Mind You MHS (Mental Health Systems) officially launched its House of Healers project – an online platform designed to help address mental health challenges faced by young Filipinos.
Currently on its soft launch, the House of Healers project is basically free mental health education and consultation sessions featuring Mind You’s team of licensed psychologists that will be playing as healer characters from video games. Gamers get to explore the “games” the Healers will be in and have access to book a free one-on-one in-game meet-up. To be able to tailor the program to meet the needs, a Mind You representative will reach out with further details when the session is confirmed.
“We have built Mind You up to be able to offer accessible and affordable mental healthcare and support for communities and individuals alike. With House of Healers, this is an exciting new avenue for us to be able to extend much-needed support to the gaming industry, in a language that can resonate more,” mentioned Mind You’s CEO Yuri Marshall in a press release.
According to recent statistics, there are at least 3.6 million Filipinos are struggling with mental health issues according to the Department of Health and the National Statistics Office also ranked mental health illness as the third most common form of suffering among Filipinos.
“The Philippines is currently facing a mental health crisis, especially among the youth who are feeling lost, disconnected, or misunderstood—while a lot clearly still needs to be done, we are seeing this as an opportunity to explore new and creative avenues to reach those in need,” noted Marshall.
The House of Healers project is based on decades of research that have proven the positive impact of video games in a person’s mental health, and thus Mind You hopes that the project will turn into the proverbial first step into one’s mental health journey.
“Mind You understands that gaming is one the more effective channels to reach young Filipinos today. With House of Healers, we aim to leverage the growing popularity and influence of video games to help break the stigma of mental health and encourage others to seek help before it is too late. Together with our partners, we have systems in place to ensure that those in the game feel safe and that their privacy is protected at all times. Overall, we are committed to helping increase the accessibility to better mental health care in the Philippines.”
House of Healers sessions are scheduled every weekend running throughout March and April, and sign-up sheets will be released weekly on Mind You’s official Facebook and Instagram pages. Along with the project, Mind You also livestreams a series of educational talks led by Senior Psychologist Rea Celine Villa MAP, LPT, RPsy. In each episode, she is joined by a panel to discuss the mental health situation in the Philippines as it relates to gaming. Their first episode entitled “Power of Community in Gaming” is already up and it talks about how the value of having a solid social support system can affect your mental health and how it can be fostered in many gaming communities.
Via Mind You
The next House of Healers session is scheduled on March 25 and 26 (Saturday and Sunday), from 3 pm to 5 pm. Registration is now open and there are only a limited number of slots. For more information, you can reach out to Mind You through their Facebook, Instagram, and email.
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