Army OT Guy: Gaming as a Therapeutic Medium

 This podcast was recorded on November 29, 2018, and the dialogue took place between Dr. Lancaster and Major Erik Johnson. Major Johnson sustained a injury in a car crash in 1997, while on duty in Bosnia. It left him with severe burns all throughout his body that left him in a hospital for roughly two months. However, these injuries prolonged as he states, “it was roughly a 20 year treat of operations.” He was awarded a Bronze Star for being the first occupational therapist to be deployed with a brigade combat team in the field. Thus, he was able to perform his therapeutic practices with brain injuries on hand at any time. 

A major takeaway that I have learned from this podcast is the power of technology, assistive technology, and how fun video games can translate to drastic positive change. Major Johnson allows the clients to enjoy whichever game (therapeutic program) they prefer, while he focuses on: concentration, problem solving skills, irritability issues. He used the “just right challenge” by choosing different games based on skill level, genres, and even client preference. 

One thing I learned was that his “programs” were not a by the book program. Major Johnson’s programs were researching different kind of games, and how to make that transfer over into the military. His programs were his own subject matter, using critical thinking and problem solving skills, completing an activity analysis on the game itself, and applying it to a treatment or evaluation. This excites me as a future OT practitioner, because it shows me how creativity this job demands. There’s not a guideline on how to treat certain diagnoses, and for practitioners to have the ability and legal rights to create their own personalized programs is superb.