During quarantine, many of us have been looking for activities to fill our stay-at-home time that feel more rewarding and productive than endless Netflix streaming. Many people are craving an escape from real-life stress and looking for ways to connect with friends that feel more personal than texting. Maybe it’s not surprising, then, that Dungeons and Dragons experienced a revival during the pandemic.
Although it may seem surprising at first, it makes sense that people are turning to D&D during stressful times. Dungeons and Dragons and other roleplaying games are increasingly popular tools in group therapy can help players improve their emotional and social well-being. In this post I’ll unpack how D&D is used in group therapy, and why it can be a benefit for mental health.
What Is Dungeons and Dragons?
Dungeons and Dragons, also known as D&D, is the most popular tabletop roleplaying game on the planet. It was invented by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson in 1974, so it’s been around for a while and has built up a large following of devoted players. Players in D&D take on the role of a character in a fantasy world, and they collaborate with other players to pursue a goal, collect treasure, or defeat bad guys. Unlike most other games, there is no set path to take, and characters don’t just progress along spaces on a board. What makes D&D and other roleplaying games unique is that the players improvise to create a story together, and their choices affect what happens next.
The game is facilitated by a lead player, called the Dungeon Master, who describes situations for the players and asks them how they’d like to proceed. Then, it’s up to the players to decide how their character would act in a given situation. To add an element of chance to the game, players then have to roll a die to see how well their plan works. It’s not competitive, and there are no winners or losers: everyone works together toward a common goal. This can lead to surprising, funny, and even touching moments during game play that could never have been planed in advance.
Why is D&D Having a Moment Right Now?
Although D&D has always been popular in geek culture, it’s enjoying a moment right now due to the popularity of Netflix’s hit show, Stranger Things. Although the show is set in the 80s, the teen characters’ obsession with D&D has piqued the interest of 2020’s kids. Although it isn’t D&D specific, TV shows like Game of Thrones have also made fantasy stories cool, and helped to bring previously “nerdy” interests into the mainstream. Finally, podcasts like The Adventure Zone and Critical Role are bringing younger, more diverse people into a game that might have formerly been associated with older guys playing in a basement. Thanks to pop culture, D&D is cool again, and being played by more young people than ever.
What Are the Mental Health Benefits of D&D?
Play of all kinds has mental health benefits—it’s why play therapy has been used to help kids since the days of Freud, back when psychology was a new and emerging field. Play helps us to assimilate information we’ve learned, test new ways of behaving before using them in real life, hone our social skills, and boost our creative problem-solving abilities.
Although we might think of play as something reserved for little kids, the truth is that older children, teens, and even adults benefit from having playful experiences in life. Unfortunately, the older we get, the harder it is to find socially acceptable ways to play. D&D is an awesome, age-appropriate way for older kids and adults to recapture that playful childhood feeling and reap some of the same benefits that play has for younger kids.
Some of the possible mental health benefits of D&D are:
Improved social skills with peers
Increased self-esteem and self-confidence
Ability to express yourself and your needs assertively
Improved impulse control and practice with turn-taking
Stronger creative thinking and problem-solving skills
What Makes D&D Work So Well in Therapy?
Although there are plenty of games in the world that aren’t just designed for little kids, D&D has a few unique characteristics that sets it apart from the rest when it comes to improving mental well-being. Here are a few reasons why D&D is so great when used in therapy:
D&D is collaborative. Rather than competing against each other, players must find a way to get along and work together.
Playing as a character who is different from yourself allows you to literally see the world through someone else’s eyes, which can build empathy.
Because the game is based in role-playing, it’s a great way to try out new ways of interacting with other people in a low-stakes, fun environment.
Playing the game tends to help people bond and build friendships. D&D provides a structured way to get to know new people that might feel less awkward than making small talk with a stranger.
D&D players have almost unlimited creative freedom, which can be liberating. Do you want to be a 1,000 year old elf sorcerer with purple hair and a pet mongoose? You can do it in D&D.
How Does a D&D Therapy Session Work?
Usually, D&D therapy is group therapy: you need a team of at least 3 or 4 people to get the game going. Unlike other forms of group therapy, D&D groups tend to be pretty intimate, which makes it easier for players to get to know each other. It’s most common for therapy groups to meet on a weekly basis, but this can vary.
Typically, groups begin with a check-in for participants to talk out of character and connect with each other. This is a great time to share about how the week has gone, and share anything that has happened that might be relevant to the group’s goals. Once everyone is settled in, the actual game-play portion of the session begins, facilitated by at least one therapist who can keep an eye on everyone’s progress and make sure that everyone is having fun. After playing, the group ends with a wrap-up conversation, which can be a great time to connect what is happening in the game to the particular goals of the therapy group.
The actual time spent playing D&D can vary a lot: based on the age and attention span of the players, a session could be as short as 1 hour or as long as several hours! It’s safe to assume that most therapy groups will be on the shorter side.
More Info On D&D As Therapy
For more info on the mental health benefits of D&D, check out one of the following resources. Geek and Sundry has an awesome, in-depth look at how D&D can help kids with social anxiety get excited about going to group therapy. If you’re more of a video person, check out this interview with a D&D therapist to hear more about her work.
If you’re local to North Carolina, New York, or Florida, I may be able to help you get started with D&D Therapy! I co-facilitate a few groups for middle and high school students, and they’re a highlight of my week.
If you’re not looking for therapy, but interested in the social-emotional benefits of roleplaying, check out Young Dragonslayers, where my geeky colleagues offer online friendship-building D&D games for kids all over the U.S.
