The Most Fun You Can Have With Self-Improvement

Gaming is therapeutic.

At its simplest: the young child who pretends to be a pirate, an astronaut or one of their parents is playing to learn and grow. Children do this readily, putting on new identities for a while to see what it’s like.

In shamanistic societies, people don cloaks of wolfskin to think like the wolf for a while. They become better hunters by literally - if only in their mind - becoming the wolf.

Games - as in, tabletop roleplaying games - are the modern versions of this. They allow people to be someone else for a moment. A different race in a different world with a different personality.

A hero.

Games speak to us, providing something the world rarely does. They’re cathartic - where someone anxious and uncertain can charge into danger to save a village. They’re escapism - a wholesome release from the pressures of the world for a while.

And they hone useful skills. The quiet can practice speaking with conviction. The powerless can feel what it’s like to set a boundary, to say “no more” and to act. Pretending to be a character who’s brave can give the meek an experience they’d struggle to find elsewhere.

Then, of course, there’s the social aspect. It’s often easier to talk about and through your character than it is to talk about yourself.

If you look up Therapeutic D&D, that’s what you’ll hear the experts talk about. For a review of the literature and seven case studies, here’s a paper on the psychiatric benefits of playing these games.

And that’s all great stuff.

And I go beyond even all of that.

Because there’s extra power in roleplaying games - one that transcends solving issues and gets into self-improvement.

You can cultivate confidence, creativity, charm and clarity, all while having fun at my gaming table.

All through the power of humanity’s greatest tool for psychological growth.

"Fairy tales do not tell children that dragons exist.  Children already know that dragons exist.
Fairy tales tell children that dragons can be killed."

- G.K. Chesterton

Chesterton is correct here. Stories are the second-best teaching tool, behind only lived experience. If you want children to know that they can slay dragons, tell them stories of heroic dragonslayers.

This is why every culture in human history - even those who ban music, art and dancing - treasures their stories.

Tabletop roleplaying games straddle both stories and lived experiences.

But not all stories are equal.

And not all experiences are educational.

That’s where I come in.

Using my decade of experience and training in applied psychology, my Therapeutic D&D games create - on top of the usual escapism, practice and catharsis - teach resilience, creativity and confidence. The lessons are buried in the plot, the characters, even the level design.

You won’t notice all of them. Even so, you’ll learn and grow. The story will do what stories do best - teach you skills and values that’ll help you in your life.

Nothing more, nothing less.

All I ask is for you to follow some simple guidelines:

• In our games, you must speak as your character (”I raise my sword and tell the warlord, ‘Not today!’ in a loud voice”).

• You must commit to attending each session - that’s why I charge upfront. Life happens, I get it, but you’ll only get the full benefit by fully showing up.

• You must take the game seriously. Fun is encouraged. Derailing the adventure isn’t.

• Respect me and any other players joining you.

• This requires your full attention. No scrolling on your phone between turns.

That’s it. Other than that, all you need to do is show up, have a good time and experience the power of change.

If you’re ready, there are spots available in the following Therapeutic D&D campaigns: