Tetris Therapy Eases Trauma for Healthcare Workers

A simple digital intervention using mental rotation and the video game Tetris can dramatically reduce intrusive memories of trauma in just one month.

Published on Feb. 24, 2026

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A study funded by Wellcome has found that a brief digital intervention involving mentally playing Tetris can significantly reduce intrusive memories and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in healthcare workers exposed to trauma during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 'Imagery Competing Task Intervention' (ICTI) method is thought to occupy the brain's visuospatial areas, competing with and weakening the vividness and emotional impact of traumatic flashbacks.

Why it matters

Healthcare workers worldwide are regularly exposed to traumatic events, with limited treatment options often available. The study offers a promising, scalable, and easily accessible digital intervention that could transform how PTSD is prevented and treated, benefiting healthcare systems and professionals under intense pressure.

The details

The randomized controlled trial involved 99 healthcare workers exposed to trauma at work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants receiving the ICTI intervention had 10 times fewer intrusive memories than control groups four weeks after starting the treatment. After six months, 70% of ICTI participants reported no intrusive memories at all - a dramatic reduction compared to control groups. The intervention was also highly effective in reducing PTSD symptoms more broadly.

  • The study was published in The Lancet Psychiatry on February 19, 2026.
  • The randomized controlled trial was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The players

Charlotte Summers

Director of the Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart & Lung Research Institute and Professor of Intensive Care Medicine at the University of Cambridge.

Emily Holmes

Professor of Psychology at Uppsala University, who obtained her PhD at Cambridge in 2005 and was previously a Programme Leader at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit.

Tayla McCloud

Research Lead for Digital Mental Health at Wellcome.

Wellcome

A charitable foundation that funded the study.

P1vital

A company that collaborated on developing the 'Imagery Competing Task Intervention' (ICTI).

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What they’re saying

“Every day, healthcare workers across the world are recurrently exposed to traumatic events in the course of their work, impacting the mental and physical wellbeing of those who care for us when we are unwell.”

— Charlotte Summers, Director of the Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart & Lung Research Institute and Professor of Intensive Care Medicine at the University of Cambridge (Mirage News)

“Even a single, fleeting intrusive memory of past trauma can exert a powerful impact in daily life by hijacking attention and leaving people at the mercy of unwanted and intrusive emotions. By weakening the intrusive aspect of these sensory memories via this brief visual intervention, people experience fewer trauma images flashing back.”

— Emily Holmes, Professor of Psychology at Uppsala University (Mirage News)

“These results are impressive for such a simple to use intervention. If we can get similarly strong results in bigger trials, this could have an enormous impact. It's rare to see something so accessible, scalable and adaptable across contexts. It doesn't require patients to put their trauma into words and even transcends language barriers.”

— Tayla McCloud, Research Lead for Digital Mental Health at Wellcome (Mirage News)

What’s next

The research team are seeking options to test the effectiveness of the treatment with larger, more diverse groups of people, as well as a non-guided version. In doing so, researchers hope to demonstrate how the promising, scalable, globally available, digital intervention could help contribute towards trauma treatment around the world.

The takeaway

This simple, digital intervention using Tetris and mental rotation shows great potential as a highly accessible, scalable, and effective treatment for reducing intrusive memories and other PTSD symptoms in healthcare workers and other trauma-exposed populations. If the results can be replicated in larger trials, it could transform how we prevent and treat PTSD globally.