About this episode:

Playing video games has long been seen as an isolating activity, but the world of online gaming is anything but. Platforms like Twitch and Discord are home to thriving communities of players who connect over games and strategies. Researchers are also finding that they offer unique opportunities for peer support and mental health programs. In today's episode: A study looked into how one online gaming community, the Stack Up Overwatch Program, is providing mental health and crisis support—including suicide prevention—for military members and veterans.

Guest:

Michelle Colder Carras is a digital mental health researcher at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She specializes in video games, online communities and digital wellbeing, as well as research leadership by community members.

Host:

Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Show links and related content:

• Online Peer Support and Crisis Prevention: Evaluating the Stack Up Overwatch Program's Impact—Psychiatric Services, American Psychiatric Association

• Mind Games: Hitting Restart on the Public Health Conversation Around Gaming—Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health Magazine (2017)

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