Intro to Therapeutic Tabletop Roleplaying Games

Tabletop Roleplaying Games

Tabletop Roleplaying Games or TTRPGs have been a source of entertainment for children and adults alike. It saw popularity in the 80s with Dungeon and Dragons and saw a reemergence with Stranger Things and COVID-19. This type of game often involves someone taking the role as the Game Master and up to 4 or 5 other players who play characters they’ve created. The players play out situations and roles as their characters and the Game Master weaves the narrative and world these characters are in. Many see this game as a form of escape from the real world, but with Certified Therapeutic Game Masters it can become a form of processing and skill-building groups through a therapeutic lens.

Therapy and Tabletop

When we talked about storytelling in our last blog post, we discussed its benefits in a real-life sense, but telling stories in fiction also has benefits for the person and the people listening to it. The character becomes a vessel for learning and sometimes that’s easier than facing things head on. When we look at using ttrpgs in therapy, we’re looking at two main ideas, Bleed in and Bleed out.

Bleed in

Think of playing a game of Monopoly, Mario Kart, or some other competitive game. Do you find a part of yourself coming out to play a role? Maybe you become a mafia boss in Monopoly, exchanging money for favors to cash in. Do you dig into a part of yourself that is more competitive and talks shit to your friends? There are a lot of “I’m sorry for what I said during Mario Kart” cakes. This is bleed in. A part of yourself, hidden or otherwise, coming into a character role you are taking on. You are not the mafia in real life, but you played this character and parts of you were in it. This is the same idea in therapy ttrpgs! The character you play is a part of you in some way!

Bleed out

You’re reading a book or listening to a podcast and you find something that really resonates with you. Whether it be a quote or an idea, something that has hit you so greatly that it has become part of the way you view the world. This is bleed out. These individuals fiction or nonfiction, have done something or said something that resonated with you in a way that helped you grow. In therapeutic ttrpgs the situations your characters and in and the way your characters grow help you grow and learn for the real world! 

Interested in more?

This is going to be part of a larger blog series where we talk about different therapeutic things involving ttrpgs! If you’d like to keep up, subscribe to our newsletter at the bottom of the home page or our social media page so you can learn about new blog posts! If you are wanting to take a step into therapy and see what we have to offer in therapeutic ttrpg work, fill out the contact us form for a free 15 min consultation! We have groups and offer this in individual therapy sessions as well!