Melanie Kinney's Contact Details

Melanie Kinney's Company Details

Mightier

Boston, MA, US • 100 - 249 Employees
Healthcare Facility/Healthcare Services

Mightier is a video game program that teaches kids emotional regulation through play. Mightier was developed and tested at Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School to give kids a safe place to practice emotional regulation, develop coping skills, and build the emotional muscle memory they need to help respond to life's challenges. Many families have found Mightier beneficial when long-term therapy and/or medication hasn't worked for their family. Video games meet kids "where they are". Talk therapy often isn't fun or convenient for kids or parents. Parents have to leave work, kids generally resist going. Some Mightier players have a formal diagnosis (like ADHD or autism), but many don't. Mightier works by having kids wear a heart rate monitor as they play bioresponsive video games. As their heart rates go up, the games get more difficult. During these moments, the player is given the opportunity to practice calming skills, like deep breathing and visualization, to bring their heart rate back down. Kids are able to connect what's happening in their bodies at that exact moment with what's happening on the screen. The more kids learn to stay calm, the more they succeed in the games. The company works with popular video game developers to add the Mightier emotional learning layer to the games to keep kids engaged and learning. To date, more than 2.5 million games have been played on the Mightier app. As part of the Mightier experience, families are matched with a Masters level clinician.