Can a video game help with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

I saw this in the Post and on the Today show this morning.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2009/01/playing-tetris.html

A new study reports that the game Tetris can help with symptoms of PTSD for those victims who suffer from traumatic memories. I think it is a fascinating study, but I was a little surprised by the fact that it's really not a theory that's very new and that's how they are marketing it.

It almost exactly mirrors a popular treatment for PTSD called EMDR therapy- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, a treatment that I have undergone to help cope with my flashbacks. The process involves a lot of eye movements either following a light or movement underneath the guidance of a therapist while recalling traumatic memories. The theory is that by focusing on something repetitive, it can help reduce the frequency of flashbacks or at least help get you through them that can distract you from feeling like you are reliving the event in the present even while it's in the past- a symptom all too familiar for those of us who suffer from PTSD.

The more interesting thing is that, nobody seems to know including the people who invented it, why it works. I can not sit here and say that EMDR or therapeutic tactics such as this recent study have eliminated all of my awful memories from what I went through, but focusing on repetitive tasks and learning how to ground myself with my surroundings has worked to help soothe me through the fires of hell when friends or family are not around. Whatever works says the Gospel according to Michele Christine.