Tunnels, trolls and trauma: RPGs as therapy | whynow Gaming
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RPGs are about more than storytelling; they can also have mental health benefits and can be a powerful tool in therapy.

Naturally, some games naturally lend themselves to more therapeutic uses than others; a game like Call of Cthulhu, where characters encounter horrors beyond space and time, may run counter to the goals of therapy, for example. Nevertheless, role-playing games, whether played online or in person, have proven to be highly beneficial for their players’ mental health. The games exist outside the pressures of everyday life, where normal rules don’t apply, allowing players to reflect on what is and what might be.

  • type_1English
    2·
    1 year ago

    This is really cool! I’ve been running a game for high schoolers for the past year or so with similar goals in helping the students learn social and emotional skills. The group was organized by their high school social worker and I’m just some person who thinks it’s a cool idea and is willing to run the game, so I’m probably going to get the book mentioned in the article and see what I can use from it in my own game. Also this article is great because now I can just send it to people whenever I try to explain what exactly the point of playing d&d with a group of teenagers every week accomplishes.