On December 11th, Águeda successfully defended her PhD thesis entitled “‘Horizon Resilience’: A Smartphonce-based Serious Game Intervention for Depressive Symptoms” under the supervision of Sven Casteleyn and Universitat de Valencia professor Adriana Mira Pastor. This thesis is also connected with the research activities under the SyMptOMS-related projects, a series of research projects that marry the technical expertise of the GeoSpatial Technologies Research Lab (GEOTEC) with the knowledge in experimental psychology of the Laboratory of Psychology and Technology (LABPSITEC) to develop innovative, mobile-based solutions for the diagnosis, treatment, and relapse prevention of mental health disorders. Indeed, Águeda’s thesis is the first official PhD thesis jointly supervised by GEOTEC and LABPSITEC members.

Depression is the most prevalent mental disorder in our society, leading to disability and suicide deaths. Although effective evidence-based psychological treatments exist, they reach only a fraction of those in need. Smartphone-based interventions offer one possible solution to expand access, though challenges such as high dropout rates need to be addressed. Águedas’ dissertation introduces “Horizon: Resilience“, a smartphone-based Serious Game intervention for depressive symptoms.

One of the contributions is a systematic review that addresses the technical and psychological dimensions of existing Serious Games. The results obtained reveal the novelty of the field, detecting uncovered gaps. Among them, the scarcity of some game genres stands out, such as strategy; the lack of integration of advanced smartphone options, such as the use of sensors; the lack of Serious Games with an objective other than the intervention, such as evaluation or monitoring, and the low presence of other therapeutic approaches other than Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

Another key contribution is “Horizon: Resilience“, a smartphone-based Serious Game intervention for depressive symptoms. In this city builder game, players manage a town with the goal of progress and psychological resilience for its inhabitants. It integrates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Positive Psychology techniques, incorporating physical activity through motion sensors. The game was qualitatively and quantitatively evaluated by psychologists and patients, and a protocol for a future pilot RCT study towards efficacy and usability was designed.

Águeda’s work provides a relevant number of novel and efficient solutions well beyond the state-of-the-art in the intersection of mobile computing, location, serios games, and depressive symptoms.

And, one thing more!: Águeda’s thesis is the first doctoral degree at the UJI directly linked to the Bachelor’s Degree in Video Game Design and Development. Double merit!