While this world is imaginary, proponents say it can be a powerful conduit for self-knowledge that enables participants to make lasting changes in their everyday lives.
TTRPGs (tabletop role-playing games) are essentially a simulation machine.
Jared N. Kilmer, PhD
When someone messes up, they don’t feel as bad because it was their character. The consequences become the character’s problem.
Heather Whittall, PsyD
In the structured environment of gameplay, therapists can ensure players feel emotionally safe to take risks in the game.
A lot of people I work with aren’t used to people respecting their boundaries, so this can be a corrective experience.
Megan Connell, PsyD, ABPP
Players can speak about their feelings through the character, which helps them slowly get engaged
Elizabeth Kilmer
It feels safer to practice in a game, knowing the consequences won’t feel as catastrophic as in real life.
William Nation, PhD
The more the player practiced vocalizing in the game, the more confident they became taking initiative in the game and in real life.
Allison Battles, PhD
One veteran Carbone worked with was unhappy with her job but lacked confidence to apply for a leadership role. The group agreed that she should lead their next adventure so she could practice heading up a group. By leading other players in a pretend adventure—often making decisions on behalf of the group—the player was able to build her self-esteem to the point where she felt deserving of a better job. She landed a new job a few months later.
This approach is so effective to help people reach their therapeutic goals that I almost see it as unethical to not use it
Megan Connell, PsyD, ABPP
A lot of what’s implemented within here, I apply to my Life is a Role-Playing Game framework, especially the psychological distancing that is created when a person envisions themselves, their identity, as a “character” they are “role-playing.”
BTW the example of the person above taking a leadership role in the game and then getting a leadership position in real life mirrors my own experiences. Around 1996, I took a leadership position within an online community around the game Quake Capture The Flag. This is something I really didn’t think I was ready for in real life. By 1998 though, I was offered and accepted a senior leadership position within a web firm building online community hubs for some of the largest video game publishers at the time (i.e. Sierra, Activision, Konami).