Ars Technica writes on the psychology of the tabletop, with initial research showing promise for using role-playing games like D&D for group therapy:
“It seems particularly useful in combating the effects of social isolation and improving both interpersonal skills and intrapersonal skills (problem-solving),” explained Gary Colman, the chairman of Game Therapy UK, a registered charity staffed by volunteer professionals who are developing evidence-based therapeutic gaming projects. “In practical terms, it can also be used for a range of purposes, including modeling positive behavior and teaching soft social skills and basic educational skills, including language and numeracy.”
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D&D became the focus of therapeutic research in the mid-1990s, but only a handful of papers have shown its possible effectiveness. “There is currently very little good-quality, peer-reviewed evidence published in scientific journals on the benefits of TTRPGs,” said Colman. “The challenge has been the very small sample size of the research projects and the challenge to find funding.”
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While the research is ongoing, many academics and therapists say they have already seen positive results implementing D&D as a therapeutic tool. Most recently, a group of researchers at the University College Cork published findings in the International Journal of Role-Playing showing that D&D can positively support a player’s mental health state.
How does this work? In a standard D&D group therapy session, gameplay begins with an introduction to allow the patient/player to get into their character’s mindset; the game then runs for 70 to 90 minutes, followed by a 15- to 20-minute debriefing session to allow for discussion. The session is intended to provide a safe space for people to explore past trauma and work on social anxiety, depression, or other issues in a productive way.
Through the session, the therapist creates specific scenarios for individual players and the group to interact with. These scenarios may be a partial re-enactment of an issue or memory an individual has faced (such as dealing with a difficult person like a bully or abusive family member) or a unique situation that challenges an individual with a tough decision or invokes an emotional response. The player-driven narrative of D&D enables players to respond to these scenarios however they choose, allowing them to react candidly. The therapist may then allow the individual to sit with their scenario while giving the other players a separate situation or bringing the individual back into the larger narrative after completing the scenario.
By interacting with situations as a character, players can potentially enjoy some emotional separation from their personal responses. “A lot of what I end up doing implicitly with D&D is helping people shift from a self-focused view of their emotions as a problem to a systems lens understanding… recognizing our emotions are adaptive and an outside-in phenomenon instead of an inside-out judgment of our worth,” explained Vinny Malik Dehili, a staff therapist at Vassar College.
“So D&D helps people mentalize and think in terms of ‘why does this person feel this way or act this way?’ If I have a character that’s the opposite of me—like I’m more accommodating by nature and I want to be more assertive—I can think about their backstory and say, ‘Well, what would have happened to them in their life to make them have to be this way?’” he said.
While the research is ongoing, many academics and therapists say they have already seen positive results implementing D&D as a therapeutic tool. Most recently, a group of researchers at the University College Cork published findings in the International Journal of Role-Playing showing that D&D can positively support a player’s mental health state.
How does this work? In a standard D&D group therapy session, gameplay begins with an introduction to allow the patient/player to get into their character’s mindset; the game then runs for 70 to 90 minutes, followed by a 15- to 20-minute debriefing session to allow for discussion. The session is intended to provide a safe space for people to explore past trauma and work on social anxiety, depression, or other issues in a productive way.
Through the session, the therapist creates specific scenarios for individual players and the group to interact with. These scenarios may be a partial re-enactment of an issue or memory an individual has faced (such as dealing with a difficult person like a bully or abusive family member) or a unique situation that challenges an individual with a tough decision or invokes an emotional response. The player-driven narrative of D&D enables players to respond to these scenarios however they choose, allowing them to react candidly. The therapist may then allow the individual to sit with their scenario while giving the other players a separate situation or bringing the individual back into the larger narrative after completing the scenario.
By interacting with situations as a character, players can potentially enjoy some emotional separation from their personal responses. “A lot of what I end up doing implicitly with D&D is helping people shift from a self-focused view of their emotions as a problem to a systems lens understanding… recognizing our emotions are adaptive and an outside-in phenomenon instead of an inside-out judgment of our worth,” explained Vinny Malik Dehili, a staff therapist at Vassar College.
“So D&D helps people mentalize and think in terms of ‘why does this person feel this way or act this way?’ If I have a character that’s the opposite of me—like I’m more accommodating by nature and I want to be more assertive—I can think about their backstory and say, ‘Well, what would have happened to them in their life to make them have to be this way?’” he said.