Kai's Sanctuary: New game launched to help with children's mental health

A new mobile app designed to help improve mental health in children during the coronavirus pandemic has been released in the UK.

Kai's Sanctuary helps young people manage their emotions and introduces them to mindfulness and relaxation techniques.

The free app has now gone live on the Apple App Store and will launch on Android next month.

It is set in a futuristic sanctuary where apprentice healer Kai is learning how to take care of guardians - the creatures who are protectors of children in the virtual world.

Does it sound like a game you think you'd play?

The game has exercises linked to cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), which is a talking therapy that can help you manage your problems by changing the way you think and behave.

It's most commonly used to treat anxiety and depression, but can be useful for other mental and physical health problems.

Players can take part in yoga with a guru sloth and breathing exercises with other virtual creatures who can help you learn the techniques.

The game, developed by child health start-up and games studio Brightlobe, was funded by the Government's innovation agency Innovate UK.

The company said they had been working on the platform, due to release in March 2021, before lockdown was introduced back in March.

Shivani Lamba, founder and chief executive of Brightlobe, said: "Early data showed that children's mental health was worsening, so we proposed a game-based solution to address this crisis."

Brightlobe said it is also developing a game which can help parents and doctors to monitor conditions such as ADHD and autism, which will be set in the same universe as Kai's Sanctuary.