Bring SPIKE! to your peer support group.We offer chronic illness patients a fresh approach to peer support.
SPIKE! is a free storytelling card game for chronic illness peer support groups. We facilitate the session for you, or co-lead it with your group leader or patient advocate. Using a science-based storytelling method, players open up about hard topics with peers who understand. The game and facilitation is FREE until January 27. We only ask that the group fills out a short confidential survey on their experience afterward.
Played by the Mass General Brigham's Long COVID Recovery Support Group and Mount Sinai's Cohen Center for Recovery from Complex Chronic Illness. SPIKE was researched and designed by Denise Brodey, M.S. in Media, Medicine and Health from Harvard Medical School, who lives with Long COVID. Learn more about the science of storytelling and play, and why they help patients.
SPIKE! has helped to make talking about hard things easier for people living with chronic illnesses, including Long COVID, IBS, fibromyalgia, endometriosis, ME/CFS, diabetes and depression. Your peer group can be next.
SPIKE ! Cartes et règles pour raconter des histoires
Le jeu se déroule dans un espace sûr et confidentiel (que nous appelons laboratoire d'écoute patient), et les animateurs rappellent aux participants qu'ils peuvent interrompre leur prise de parole à tout moment. Un guide d'animation complet et un jeu de cartes sont disponibles sur demande lors de la réservation d'un laboratoire d'écoute patient avec Denise Brodey, MS, animatrice et créatrice du jeu.
Comment jouer à Spike !
La sécurité psychologique est intégrée au jeu.
Les animateurs peuvent utiliser les cartes ci-dessous pour expliquer le jeu et s'assurer que chaque joueur se sente en sécurité et ait la possibilité d'ajouter des commentaires positifs.
1. Look through the deck and select three image cards that resonate with you.
2. Take a STOP card (a hand symbol for pausing) and a PLUS card (to add anything new). This is for psychological safety. Scroll to the bottom of the page for details on this important topic.
3. One card at a time, share what comes up — any memories, emotions, or associations connected to the image. A useful framework is to choose a card that represents the ‘before’ times (pre-COVID), a card for where you are now (mentally and physically), and a card that represents the future.
4. A player can use the HAND card to pause the game or the STOP card to discontinue their turn. The game moves at each player’s pace.
5. When players talk through their cards, hold them up for others to see, either on screen or in person; the facilitator can summarize what they heard.
6. Close out each turn with three final questions: Why this card? Did what you said surprise you? Does this card point to something you wish others (like your doctor or caregiver) understood? This offers closure and insight.
**Ceci n'est ni un test médical, ni un avis médical. Ce n'est pas une thérapie. Il s'agit d'un jeu en phase de test bêta, conçu par et pour des personnes atteintes de maladies chroniques et des responsables de groupes de soutien. Les testeurs de jeux participent par esprit de communauté, et non contre rémunération.**
Thank You for Playing!
Dozens of patients spent time and precious energy developing SPIKE! the game for chronic illness peer support groups, including students, peer leaders and faculty at Harvard Medical School and MIT Games Lab in Boston.We have also received calls from therapists and patients as far away as the U.K . and the Netherlands! Thank you. We'll be working with a new cohort soon. You can stay updated by following us on our socials, links below.
