Jonathan Hook, Professor in Interactive Media, School of Arts and Creative Technologies
Jon joined the University in 2014 and is programme leader for the School's Interactive Media BSc which he helped to establish.
His background is in the fields of Computing Science and Human-Computer Interaction (PhD Newcastle University).
email: jonathan.hook@york.ac.uk
Our 60-second interview with Jonathan:
What do you do in the field of mental health?
My research explores new forms of interactive media and how they can be designed to have a positive impact on people’s lives and address social challenges. The field of mental health is an area where I think that such forms can have an especially powerful impact, and with my team I’ve been lucky to work on several projects in this area. With Simona Manni, we’ve explored the role that non-linearity in video media can play in representing people’s experiences of recovery from mental illness in a more multi-dimensional manner. With Chris Catalan, we’re looking at whether games in the Walking Simulator genre can be applied as a therapeutic tool for people with Generalised Anxiety Disorder. With colleagues across York and Leeds Beckett, we’ve been looking at how interactivity and choice in video media can support young people who are making complex decisions about their fertility preservation following a cancer diagnosis – with a particular emphasis on emotional and mental health support.
What do you find most rewarding and inspiring in this work?
I’ve always loved making and creating things with technology. This kind of work allows me to be part of making things that I hope can have a genuinely positive impact on people’s lives. The work I have been involved in related to mental health has been particularly rewarding in this regard – especially the Stepping Through work led by Simona Manni, in which the impacts on participants’ lives were richly evident in the non-linear film that was created.
What is the most challenging or complicated aspect of this work?
Designing technology in the context of complex challenges like those relating to mental health is itself complex and challenging! In our work, we predominantly employ user-centred, co- or participatory design methodologies to ensure that we are taking the lead from the lived experiences of the people whom we wish to benefit.
What impact do you hope your work is having - or can potentially have?
I hope that the things we create for - and in fact most often with - people will benefit them in the ways we hope they will.
Could you share with us one piece of advice that you follow for your own mental health?
In the moment, concerns, challenges, worries can feel far more overwhelming than they do later and when put into a broader perspective. I’ve not been particularly good at taking this advice, but I try to tell myself that taking a step back, doing something different, can really help in dealing with things that at the time feel insurmountable.