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WIZARDS, WARRIORS,
& WELLNESS
The Therapeutic Application of
Role-Playing Games
by
Jack Berkenstock Jr., MHS & Baron Blakley
WIZARDS, WARRIORS,
& WELLNESS
The Therapeutic Application of
Role-Playing Games
by
Jack Berkenstock Jr., MHS & Baron Blakley
Cover art and “Heroes of the Game” art by Jeremy and Tori Thilo/Toriborealis Pictures and Goods
“RPG Dice” by jpneok is licensed under CC 1.0
Photography by Doug Hilton Photography
Page layout by Baron Blakley
Edited by Doug Hagler
Visit www.thebodhanagroup.org for more information about The Bodhana Group and its programs & services,
which include training, consultation, and therapeutic groups utilizing tabletop board and role-playing games
for education, skill building, and therapy.
Special thanks to: Richard Thomas, Adam Davis, Adam Johns, Hawke Robinson, Ben Parkinson, Dr. Rafael
Boccamazzzo, Dr. Megan Connell, Dr. Sarah Lynne Bowman, L. Mike Fields, “Lucius” and “Marcus,”
Game to Grow, RPGResearch, Onyx Path Publishing/Pugsteady Games and Eddy Webb (Pugmire),
Monte Cook Games, and Shanna Germain (No Thank you Evil).
Also thanks to all the friends, fans, and citizens of the Bodhanaverse!
Welcome to the World of Therapeutic Role-Playing Games ___________________ 1
What Do We Mean by “Therapeutic Role-Playing Games?” ___________________ 3
What Are the Therapeutic Benefits of Tabletop Role-Playing Games? ___________ 4
Social skills ______________________________________________________ 4
Creativity________________________________________________________ 5
Empathy ________________________________________________________ 6
Critical thinking & Problem solving _________________________________ 6
Resilience ________________________________________________________ 7
Education _______________________________________________________ 8
Initiative_________________________________________________________ 8
Fun _____________________________________________________________ 9
Conflict resolution—Bringing it All Together _________________________ 9
What Do You Do in a Tabletop RPG? _____________________________________ 10
First, choose a game ______________________________________________ 11
Create a character________________________________________________ 11
Build a party ____________________________________________________ 12
Where do you meet? _____________________________________________ 13
Ground Rules ___________________________________________________ 14
Who will GM? __________________________________________________ 14
How often are you going to meet? _________________________________ 14
Play the game ___________________________________________________ 14
Possible Applications for Specific Diagnoses/Conditions ____________________ 16
Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder ___________________________ 19
Anger Issues ____________________________________________________ 20
Anxiety ________________________________________________________ 21
Autism Spectrum Disorder________________________________________ 22
Depression _____________________________________________________ 24
Learning Disabilities _____________________________________________ 25
Social Skills Deficits ______________________________________________ 26
Trauma-Informed Care ___________________________________________ 27
Things to Remember____________________________________________________ 29
Dragons, elves, wizards, warriors. Dungeons, castles,
caverns, tombs.
Brandon was a shy kid. But that didn't mean
These are some of the most popular images of he didn't want friends.
tabletop role-playing games, as portrayed by the kids
playing Dungeons & Dragons on the hit Netflix He didn’t look people in the eye. He
show Stranger Things, but they are just the tip of the withdrew from social activities. He sometimes
iceberg. Tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) long got so overwhelmed that he’d cover his head
ago expanded beyond the typical fantasy tropes, and with his arms and scream to be left alone.
in recent years there has been an explosion of new
games and gaming environments. There are games But he didn’t actually want to be alone.
for fans of science fiction, horror, westerns, comic
books, cartoon characters, and much more. What he wanted was a way to connect to
peers who were starting to move on in ways
And while you may imagine the typical RPG player he couldn’t quite grasp.
as a nerdy kid in their parents’ basement (not that
there’s anything wrong with that!), the hobby This isn't a story about “curing” Brandon. He
actually attracts all kinds of people. Hollywood has made peace with the unique set of
actors Vin Diesel, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, strengths and struggles that autism has given
Drew Barrymore, and Mike Myers all play, as do him. This is a story about how Brandon found
filmmakers Jon Favreau, Kevin Smith, and Joss a game he loved, and how that game - by its
Whedon. Stephen Colbert is also a long-time player. very nature - helped him develop friendships
They play because they know how fun it is to sit and the skills to manage them.
around with a group of friends and create a story
together. RPGs are pure fun, plain and simple. And it's also the story of a group of battle-
hardened adventurers, who fought their way
But as tabletop RPGs are enjoying their renaissance, through an army of orcs to rescue the king.
there is a growing awareness that they are more than
just a great way for friends to have fun together. Role-playing games can actually be good for you! You
may already have seen articles reporting how RPGs can be used to help reinforce skills learned in
therapy, such as social interaction or emotional recognition and management (for example, this from the
BBC, which quotes our Executive Director, Jack Berkenstock). At The
Bodhana Group, we are putting these ideas into practice.
NPC - (Non-Player Character) - A character who We’re going to focus on seven particular
is portrayed and controlled typically by the ga- therapeutic benefits of playing RPGs, each one
memaster. NPCs are usually characters in the tied to one of The Bodhana Group’s seven
background of the narrative, or those who help Heroes of the Game:
move the story along or assist the PCs.
Gaming groups can be a great way for people to Meanwhile, you are also developing and using
develop these skills. The safe space of a game other skills, such as waiting your turn, looking
provides a platform where you can start slow at issues from other perspectives, reading and
and simple. One of the reasons is that within the interpreting facial cues, and organizing your
game you can make a choice and the thoughts to formulate your response. These are
consequences affect your character and not you. just a few of the basic, critical social skills that
It’s all pretend; you will survive any mistake. role-playing games help develop for all players
You may be unhappy with the in-game - whether or not the players are actively seeking
the opportunity to practice. And learning these
skills doesn’t seem like learning because you are
focused on fighting orcs and crashing through
the gate, or stealing the dossier from the
General.
Creativity
Players work together to create characters and
then use those characters to tell an engaging
story. The question of “what happens next” is
answered by the decisions the players make
during game sessions. Every aspect of the game
encourages the players to imagine their
characters, the characters their friends have
created, and the world in which they are
interacting.
The Bodhana Group’s Heroes of the Game represent the therapeutic benefits of role-playing games.
A bigger issue, particularly if some players have How often are you going to meet?
difficulty with anxiety, anger management, or If there are just two or three of you playing, you
social skills in general, is how players treat each might can get by with an ad hoc, “we’ll play
other. Depending on the emotional maturity of when we can” agreement. But if you have a
your players, you may want to establish rules larger group, you’ll want to come up with some
with regard to teasing and other behaviors. kind of schedule for when the group will get
Some examples include: No abusive language; together. And you’ll want everyone to agree to
No physical touching; No teasing players when make every effort to show up for games, to be
they are upset or having a difficult time with respectful of each other player’s time.
what is happening in the game; and, Let other
players make their own choices. If you are a parent planning to run the game for
your children, be aware that although it seems
Who will GM? like it will be easy to play “when we can,” some
Every gaming group will need someone to run children struggling with anxiety or autism
the games. It doesn’t need to be the same person spectrum disorder might still need the structure
every time, but it does need to be someone of a scheduled game night.
reliable. Usually the person who most wants to
get the group together to start gaming becomes Play the Game
the GM. Odds are, since you’re reading this, that The details will vary somewhat according to the
will be you. But once the group gets going, you game, but the basics will hold true. The GM
Succeed or fail, the GM describes the results, LARPS can provide an opportunity to roleplay
and the cycle continues. The GM describes the difficult conversations, or to help players see
new situation, and the players figure out what the world from another person's perspective.
their characters will do. Back and forth it goes, Some LARPs use these simulated settings to
as together they create – and star in—their own really feel what it is like to live life in a different
story. time period, or a different country.
How RPGs Might Help: Socially, children with Listening to the plans of your teammates and
ADD/ADHD can get into trouble due to their strategizing together improves focus, attention,
difficulty in taking turns or demonstrating and communication.
patience. The structured nature of role-playing
games helps promote waiting one’s turn and Also, the visuals provided by maps and
thinking through situations. The flow of play miniatures can help to cement thinking into
within an RPG provides a framework for something more concrete. RPGs can be played
people working together while taking turns. without these tools, but the physical
Most games resolve this through the use of representation of a board and pieces can help to
“initiative,” which is a mechanism in the game lock thinking down, for those who need it. It
that determines who goes in what order. takes the racing thoughts in the brain and gives
Usually, the initiative order changes over the them physical form to aid in focus.
course of the game, giving each individual
player a chance to go first, which helps keep the Potential Adjustments: Some individuals with
experience fresh and not formulaic. ADD/ADHD struggle with overstimulation, in
which the brain can become so flooded with
When playing an RPG with a group of people, information that focusing on one thing can be
there usually is a lot going on. This can be a difficult. These players might be helped by
boon to players who cannot slow their mind limiting subplots so there is one focused goal at
down, by creating a parallel environment one time, building the adventure step by step.
where creative, “outside of the box” thinking This would allow the player to focus their
prevails. While waiting for their turn, the attention. You also might give the player in
players are encouraged to pay attention to what question a personal goal. This gives a central
other members of their party are doing. As they point of focus as well as providing a way to
progress, players learn that by using time encourage paying attention to the flow of the
between turns wisely, they can be more game so they can pick up on valuable clues
effective - and have more fun - on their own relevant to their experience.
turn. They are also participating in the social
experience of watching, talking about, and Some players might find the seated nature of
laughing about what happens on each other the game difficult. A simple solution is to let
player’s turn. Players are encouraged to see these players stand up and walk around as the
their adventuring party as a team, and for that game goes on. Sitting is a convenience that most
team to succeed they need to work together. gamers prefer, but it is certainly not required by
You could also build ways to reward players for How RPGs Might Help: Individuals with anger
being patient during the session by letting them issues can have problematic reactions to being
roll an extra die when they attack to confronted with problems to which that cannot
demonstrate how taking your time helps build see a solution. As we’ve noted, RPGs help
better strategy. This could encourage more players develop problem-solving skills. In
patient reactions and planning on the part of the RPGs, missions usually do not have to have just
players in controlled situations, exploring one solution. Well-designed challenges can
frustration and coping skills meant to manage instead provide a menu of opportunities for
that feeling when possible solutions are not conflict resolution, providing the player with an
fruitful. opportunity to practice thinking through
situations.
to switch thoughts is a valuable tool to Some games, especially those for children, can
managing depression. also help with skills like abstract thinking and
creative problem solving. The thrill of the game
Learning Disabilities can engage the player and drive them to want
Description: The term “learning disabilities” to learn and work through the challenge.
includes a wide and varied array of difficulties
and challenges that involve the way a person Potential Adjustments: Rulesets for may
interprets, stores, encodes, retrieves, and utilizes systems can be simplified. You can start by
information. Information can be represented by choosing a system that matches where the
words numbers, colors, spatial relationships, person is, or playing a variant that offers some
concepts, and ideas. This can be anything as challenge for the player. One way to do this is to
basic as the value of numbers, the way they are start with a basic version of the rules, then add
written, working with any number process more aspects and rules variants as the player
(adding, subtracting, etc.), or the order in which gets better with the game. Repetition is a great
they are written. Disabilities involving words learning tool.
can involve phonetics, syntax, writing the
letters, comprehending the words, or even The game No Thank You Evil!, from Monte
stringing together ideas into paragraphs and Cook Games, actually has three levels of play
sentences. that can interact in the same game. As players
better understand the game, they can take on
How RPGs Might Help: RPGs generally more complex characters. There are red, green
involve a lot of numbers and reading. That and blue level characters that add more aspects
doesn’t mean a non-reader can’t play, but the to a character to be able to customize the
ability to read will take a player deeper into the experience to the learning level of the player.
game, enriching the experience. Players will And because the three levels of play can interact
want to read the rules about their characters, to at the same game, the characters for individual
better understand them. During the game, they players can advance in complexity at the rate
will usually be working with numbers to some appropriate for each player.
extent in order to judge the level of success or
failure of their character’s actions. RPGs use a
range of mechanics and resolution systems. .
Some players might be very outgoing and control the way that people respond to it. Your
social, and love engaging with everyone. story or setting may not re-initiate trauma, but
Sometimes these people can be great role something another player says might do just
models and teachers. At other times, they can be that. Some people do not feel comfortable
intimidating and intrusive, and even sharing their stories of trauma or their
frightening to players who are not as engaging. situations, so other players at the table might
The challenge is to balance your group. The not know.
group should be encouraging and supportive,
so that no player “hogs the spotlight.” The Another consideration is that similar trauma
therapist should also make sure to carefully can affect individuals in dramatically different
construct the adventures to give chances for ways. One person could be mildly upset.
everyone to have something to contribute. Another could be driven to tears thinking of
their situation and how they have been hurt.
Trauma-Informed Care Additionally, we rarely know for certain
Description: Trauma Informed Care is a without having been told what can trigger
framework of understanding, recognizing, and someone. For some people things as basic as
responding to the various effects of trauma. smells, songs, and voices can be powerful
This includes being mindful and aware of triggers that make a memory from the past
possible histories of trauma in an effort not to re seem as vibrant as if it happened only
-initiate them. This is usually something that yesterday. Persons unknowingly re-engaging
occurs in people who have experienced severe traumatic material without appropriate
situations of trauma in their lives. Some rehearsal could have very varying degrees of
examples could be anything from surviving a reactions. Also, therapists require special
fire or a car accident to physical or sexual abuse. training to deal with more extreme forms of
The main worry in this situation is that through trauma. Once again, non-therapists should not
some story element of the game, you could attempt to “do therapy” for these or individuals
unknowingly replicate someone’s trauma. This with any other clinical diagnosis.
could cause the person to re-experience the
trauma, and with that possibly the pain of the How RPGs Might Help: Having said this, the
trauma. Part of the problem with trying to very structure and design of a role-playing
utilize trauma-informed care within a creative game can yield substantial benefits for people
setting like a role-playing game is that while with histories of trauma. Role-playing games
you can control the setting, you cannot always from one perspective are about escape and