Our Approach

We are social scientists with a strong foundation in developmental science, clinical psychology and affective neuroscience. We are committed to designing and empirically evaluating an entirely novel prevention and treatment approach for young people's emotional and mental health, an approach that harnesses the intrinsically motivating properties of video games and their immense potential to teach new forms of thought and behaviour. We test the impact of already-commercialized video games as well as games we co-develop ourselves. Ultimately, we want to engage and empower young people to choose the interactive media experiences that best fit with their self-expressed emotional needs and to share those experiences with friends and family that might likewise benefit. 

Who We Are

Designing, testing and implementing effective, commercial-grade games for young people's emotional and mental health is a complex initiative that requires diverse expertise. We are a one-of-a-kind multidisplinary lab and extended network that incorporates senior faculty, PhD students and international award-winning game designers. There are virtually no validated games that target mental health issues. We are among the first team forging this new ground, with artists, programmers and designers working alongside graduate students in developmental psychopathology, clinical psychology and education. More information on the talented individuals that make up the GEMH lab and the varied PhD and design projects can be found below.

Information that will help you share our story can be found in our press kit.


Dr. Isabela Granic - Director of GEMH Lab

Industry professor McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada.  

To learn more about Dr. Granic and/or to inquire about possible collaborations, please click here.

Research

We are a research and development lab that aims to establish the scientific foundations for effective mental health games. We empirically validate our games with rigorous research designs, we share our data publicly, and publish our results regardless of outcomes. We are also committed to developing a theoretical framework and new methodologies that stipulate how to use games to experimentally test theories of psychological change.

DIG DEEPER...PARTICIPANTS

Design

Our international partners include developmental psychologists, neuroscientists, veteran game developers, and artists whose objective is to harness the power of play to transform children's emotional lives. We co-design game experiences based on empirically validated principles, together with clinicians, parents and children themselves.

GAMES COLLABORATE

Our people

  • Isabela Granic
    Director of GEMH Lab

    Professor and Chair of the Developmental Psychopathology department in the Behavioural Science Institute; writer; voracious podcast consumer; mother of two upstanding little gamers

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    Professor at McMaster's University

    Contact
  • Hanneke Scholten
    Co-Director of GEMH Lab

    Researcher, interdisciplinary work and collaboration, wants to understand the how's and why's, loves her high heels and coffee in the morning, walks and talks too fast.

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    Assistant Professor at University of Twente

    Contact
  • Ken Koontz
    Creative Director of GEMH Lab

    GEEK, Game designer, artist, producer, anime and video game enthusiast, American football player, and as of recently a newb gardener. I'm pretty much always down for new ventures and experiences - O' ley do it!

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    Founder of Koontz Interactive

    Contact
  • Nastasia Griffioen
    Chief Scientist Designer

    Nerd, is fascinated by the brain even more than your average zombie, into etymology and reading, drawn to anything tech-related, especially artificial intelligence. Wants to explore social tech (such as social media) and how these relate to young people's wellbeing.

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    Post Doctorate

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  • Joanneke Weerdmeester
    Reseacher and consultant at GEMH Lab

    Behavioural scientist, lecturer, consultant, gamer, dungeon master, language enthusiast, and lover of all things geeky. Passionate about creating and validating interventions and interactive experiences that can help us understand and manage our well-being in a playful and meaningful way.

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    Freelance Consultant

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  • Isabelle Kniestedt
    Project Manager at GEMH Lab

    As a creator, researcher, and teacher, I bring together skills from academia and development to explore the ways in which games can contribute to society.

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    Development and management

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  • Erik van den Berge
    GEMH Sessions Producer

    Game developer, VR-guru, mocap artist, animator, video editor, and all-round problem solver. Avid gamer, movie lover and knowledge sponge.

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    Multimedia Designer at Radboud University

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  • Suhaavi Kochhar
    Researcher at GEMH Lab

    Researcher, PhD candidate, passionate plant mom, fitness buff, people person, suffers from an optimism bias, ESFJ and enneagram type 2. Especially keen on translational science; it's time we burst the bubble!!!

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    PhD-Candidate

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  • Abele Michela
    Researcher at GEMH Lab

    Phd student working on a training program for Dutch Police incorporating Virtual Reality and Biofeedback.

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    PhD-Candidate

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  • Aniek Wols
    Researcher at GEMH Lab

    I am interested in how and why applied games for mental health work, with a specific focus on the influence of one's mindset, motivation and expectations.

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    PhD-Candidate

    Contact
  • Tom Hollenstein
    Collaborator

    Associate Professor in Developmental Psychology at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

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    Associate Professor at Queen's University

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  • Evan Hirsch
    Collaborator

    I work with clients to design ecosystems, adapt bleeding edge research and develop end-to-end strategies that help improve the lives of their patients, practitioners and users.

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    Staff Vice President, Design and UX at Anthem, Inc.

    Contact
  • Anna Lichtwarck-Aschoff

    Assistant Professor at the Developmental Psychopathology Department, mainly interested in general processes and principles of clinical change; mother of two wild boys.

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    Assistant Professor

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  • Marlou Poppelaars

    I am a Postdoctoral researcher passionate about internalizing psychopathology prevention and the use of technology and innovation for this purpose while stimulating intrinsic motivation. I love to read, cook and bake everything delicious. Working on finishing my dissertation and Two Dots (Level 3682 and counting).

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    Postdoc

    Contact
  • Anouk Tuijnman

    I am a passionate researcher interested in improving the well-being of young people with the use of innovative interventions.

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    PhD-Candidate

    Contact
  • Jeanine Jennings

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    Contact
At the end of the day we are all a bunch of 1337 nerds trying to use our powers for good ...

and taking over the world, whichever comes first!

┌( ಠ_ಠ)┘      ☜-(ΘLΘ)-☞       ╘[◉﹃◉]╕
3%

Amount of pizza left after a GEMH Lab Game Night

75%

Female Game researchers in the GEMH Lab

100%

F.U.N.

Funding

About the funder

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research supports a strong system of sciences in the Netherlands by encouraging quality and innovation in science. Our conviction is that scientific research contributes to our prosperity and well-being and that it provides for our growing need for knowledge: for facing societal challenges, for economic development and to better understand ourselves and the world.

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About the funder

The ERC operates according to a "curiosity-driven", or "bottom-up", approach, allowing researchers to identify new opportunities in any field of research. Accordingly the portfolio ERC funded projects spans a wide range of topics and research questions.

Since 2007, more than 6,500 projects have been selected to receive ERC funding throughout the EU Member States and the associated countries. The ERC has received over 62,000 project proposals for its calls.

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About the funder

ZonMw (The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development) funds health research in the Netherlands and promotes the actual use of the knowledge this research produces.   Our aim is to promote quality and innovation of health research in order to make health care better and to keep it affordable. 

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About the funder

GGZ Oost Brabant stands for "Personalized health care for you and your family".  We provide safe humane mental and emotional health care services for the citizens in the Brabant province of the Netherlands.  Working together with the client we are looking for the best solution, as far as possible, tailored to the personal situation.  Our help can be as simple and short, or as intensive and long-term as needed, but always accessible in the clinic, in the neighborhood or online, sometimes at home.

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About the funder


Innovations at the heart of human flourishing

Templeton World Charity Foundation supports a diverse group of researchers in the discovery of new knowledge, development of new tools, and launch of new innovations that make a lasting impact on human flourishing.

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About the funder

Joy Ventures is on a singular mission - to build and support companies developing science-backed consumer products that help people experience moments of everyday joy and improve their mental wellbeing.

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Latest Projects View all projects

  • Project Lead Category Project Status
    Isabela Granic Resilience Preparation

    Bloombox: A Toolkit for Creating Transformative Tech

    About the project

    Creating digital tech—whether it be videogames or apps—that makes a real impact on human flourishing is hard! Luckily, at the GEMH Lab we have amassed many lessons learned, tips, tricks and caveats over the years of our existence. All of which we aim to bring together in the Bloombox: a toolkit for creating transformative tech.

    view this project

  • Project Lead Category Project Status
    Abele Michela Behavior Regulation Writing Dissertation

    DUST: Decisions Under Stress Training - A Biofeedback Training in Virtual Reality for police officers

    About the project

    The work of a police officer can be seen as an evolutionary paradox: in places and situations where most people would fall prey to survival instincts of self-preservation, police officers ought to act calm, with proportionality and benevolence. This is why police officers need to train control over their responses to threat as much as possible. To enable this, we develop a virtual training environment with real-time biofeedback. We combine virtual reality and biofeedback to create a personalized, realistic training experience, while honing state-of-the-art technology and psychophysical theory.

    view this project

  • Project Lead Category Project Status
    Nastasia Griffioen Social Media Preparation

    XCAVO: Digital Explorations

    About the project

    Digital media are designed to serve many different functions: socialising, working, building relationships, as well as playing and being entertained. In this project, we seek to understand the impact of different features of digital media, and help youth align what they value and love with what they do on digital platforms, in order to increase wellbeing and coherent identity development.

    view this project

RESEARCHERS

 

We Need Youth Advisors

Are you between ages 18-24 yrs old?
Earn compensation while working with game developers and researchers creating playful interactive media.



Click here to apply

PUBLIC

 

How can you play our Games?

If you are interested in learning more about how to access and/or play our games please contact us here so that we can direct your inquiry.




Click here to send inquiry