Leveling Up Mental Health

Video Games and Mental Health: Have we learned anything yet?!

Calgary psychologist Andrew Nicholson and his best friend and actor Adolyn H. Dar summarize the first run of episodes of the podcast, talking about what they learned, what surprised them, and directions they want to go in the future. They answer each other's skill testing questions, and debate once more whether video games are the HERO or the VILLAIN for mental health.Editing: Gurvir MinhasIntro Animation: Marco PerriMusic: Alexander Smith

Queer Theory and Video Games

Calgary psychologist Andrew Nicholson and his best friend and actor Adolyn H. Dar are joined by Derritt Mason, an author and associate professor at the University of Calgary, to talk queer theory and video games. They discuss queer representation in games, how these themes overlap with mental health, and the intersection with coming of age stories. Editing: Gurvir Minhas Intro Animation: Marco Perri Music: Alexander Smith

Neurodivergent Gaming: Coping Skills & Cozy Games

Calgary psychologist Andrew Nicholson and his best friend and actor Adolyn H. Dar sit down with Mira Maschmeyer to talk about neurodivergent gaming. Mira shares about her experience with cozy gaming, what that means to her, and why it is an important coping tool for her diagnosed autism spectrum disorder. Editing: Gurvir Minhas Intro Animation: Marco Perri Music: Alexander Smith

Game Developer Dilemmas: How to represent mental health in video games

Calgary psychologist Andrew Nicholson and his best friend and actor, Adolyn H. Dar, sit down with local Calgary game developer Keith Mitchell to talk about all things gaming and mental health related, including ideas and challenges for representing mental health in video games, behind the scenes knowledge on game development, and exploring the responsibility of game developers. Editing: Gurvir Minhas Intro Animation: Marco Perri Music: Alexander Smith

Female Perspectives of Online Gaming

Do gamers who identify as female have a unique experience of video games and how they impact their mental health? Calgary-based psychologist Andrew Nicholson and his best friend and actor Adolyn H. Dar sit down with Andrea Fong, who has completed research on this exact topic. She shares both her academic knowledge, as well as her own personal journey, in an episode that explores the female perception and experience of gaming online. Editing: Gurvir Minhas Intro Animation: Marco Perri Music: Alexander Smith Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/levelingupmentalhealth/