How SPIKE! Works
Host a patient listening lab.
SPIKE!'s Unique Design Framework
THE MAGIC OF THE GAME
Unlike a conversation or journal about your illness, SPIKE! has a playful supportive feel that testers enjoyed, even when they said telling their stories was difficult.
EVIDENCE-BASED DESGIN
This is the first game for people living with Long COVID and related illnesses that can be made widely available, allows patients to feel heard amongst peers. Research that shows that games that promote conversation and storytelling help patients, caregivers and families to rethink illness, grieve losses, and eliminate stigma.
NOTHING ABOUT US WITHOUT US
The card images you see below were chosen from hundreds of books, conversations and podcasts about chronic illness and reflect the everyday lives of chronic illness patients. Patients tested the game and gave insight into how it could be a low-stakes, low-energy game for people experiencing limited energy, crashes or flares.
SPIKE! Storytelling Rules
Players choose three cards like the samples below. The facilitator then asks people to share what they think, feel, or notice about the images, closing the players turn by asking how each card relates to their past, present, or future. Participants in the group also have a chance to comment on the cards and add to the conversation. ( "Three Key SPIKE! Cards", below).
Play is conducted in a safe, confidential space (what we call a patient listening lab) and facilitators remind players they can stop sharing at any time.
A full facilitation guide and deck of cards is available upon request when you book a Patient Listening Lab with facilitator and game creator Denise Brodey, MS.
Note: If you are a patient and want more information on how to suggest this to your support group or clinical practice, we are happy to answer your questions!
Three key SPIKE! cards:
The "cue" cards (below) are given to each player. They ensure that every player feels safe and has a chance to add positive comments.
The Role of Facilitator
The facilitator creates a pyschologicaly safe space and guides players in adding their positive comments without interrupting the storyteller. The facilitation design was based on testing that showed structured games are were more helpful and enjoyable than open-ended conversations. Game Creator Denise Brodey is facilitating groups on request this summer!
** This is not a medical test or advice. It is not therapy. It is a game being beta-tested by and for people with chronic illness and support group leaders. Game testers play out of a sense of community, not for payment.**
The Healing Power of Storytelling and Play
Created by a Harvard Medical School graduate student.
Game tested on 35+ Long COVID,
ME/CFS and POTS
patients.
Research shows storytelling is an effective way for people to fight stigma, rethink their illness and connect to peers. In one study, researchers found that stories helped offer patients new perspectives, exchange alternative views on an illness and elicit understanding. Another study on Long COVID narratives showed collectively telling stories fights isolation and helps people make sense of their illness.
More than 35 patients tested SPIKE! in one-on-one play and in a pilot test with Brigham's Long COVID Recovery Support Group in Boston.
Note: If you are a chronic illness patient or advocate and want more information on how to suggest this to your support group or clinical practice, we are happy to answer your questions!