New ‘groundbreaking’ digital tool can reduce intrusive memories among ICU staff

This finding is supported by qualitative research conducted in collaboration with NIHR ARC East Midlands, the NIHR Nottingham BRC Mental Health and Technology Theme, and the NIHR MindTech Co-operative. 

The GAINS study has highlighted that the Imagery Competing Task Intervention can effectively prevent or diminish intrusive memories among COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU) staff exposed to traumatic events. 

Developed following 20 years of research by Professor Emily Holmes from Uppsala University in Sweden, and built in collaboration with P1vital Products Ltd, UK, this simple digital intervention involves briefly bringing the intrusive memory to mind followed by playing a game using mental rotation, taking around 25 minutes to complete. 

Professor Richard Morriss, NIHR ARC East Midlands Mental Health and Wellbeing Theme Lead, said: "The development of this groundbreaking digital tool marks a significant advancement in supporting frontline healthcare workers.

“By effectively reducing the frequency of intrusive memories from traumatic experiences, it empowers our dedicated professionals to reclaim control over their mental wellbeing, ensuring they can continue to provide exceptional care to patients.”

An article in the Financial Times explores how emerging technological treatments are enhancing mental health, highlighting an intriguing finding: playing Tetris® using mental rotation may help reduce intrusive memories among ICU staff. Importantly, just playing Tetris® alone has been shown not to work – rather it needs to be used as one of three intervention components above (alongside recall and mental rotation) in the digital intervention platform. 

As one part of the intervention, the classic puzzle game, which challenges players to rotate and arrange colourful blocks to fit together, proved to be a therapeutic tool for nurse Irene Jimenez Padilla, helping her overcome persistent traumatic flashbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic.

She said: “The images of people dying during the pandemic kept on returning like an annoying fly that continuously comes, again and again, buzzing, buzzing, buzzing.” 

However, after a few weeks playing the game, she revealed that she now rarely suffers from intrusive memories stemming from the pandemic. 

Professor Holmes and colleagues tested the approach in a study published last year. Participants listed their intrusive memories at the start of the work and then were prompted to bring the image associated with one of them to mind before each gaming session. 

During just the fourth week, participants who were given immediate access to this intervention reported significantly fewer intrusive memories than those who were not.

The authors said: “Our study provides the first evidence of a benefit on reducing intrusive memories, improving other clinical symptoms, work functioning and wellbeing, as well as safety of a brief remotely delivered digital imagery-competing task intervention.”

The main trials were funded by The Wellcome Trust and sponsored and managed by the team at P1vital Products Ltd, with scientific leadership from Holmes at Uppsala University and collaborators including the Intensive Care society.

To read the clinical trial study, visit https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-023-02578-0 and https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-023-02062-7.

To access the qualitative paper that was led by the ARC East Midlands team, click here. 

For more information about the intervention, click here.