Your party is escorted into a grand chamber woven from living branches and twisted vines. In that chamber, five members of the high elven council sit on elevated thrones. The atmosphere is tense, the elves whispering to each other, their faces unreadable as you enter. 

Your palms sweat with the importance of this mission — a mission you know could determine the outcome of your quest to defeat the coming darkness and save the realm. The elves have the only remaining magical artifact powerful enough to turn the tide of this war, and you’ve been given the task of persuading them to part with it. 

You step forward, bowing respectfully to the council, before opening your mouth to … ask for a Persuasion check. 

This is a typical scene for Dungeons and Dragons, the fantasy tabletop role-playing game that has become beloved across multiple generations. Players create their own characters based on general archetypes, giving them names, personality traits, and skills that can help them and their group — or “party” — complete elaborate campaigns. 

It’s a game that is only limited by the players’ imaginations, and Georgia Tech’s counseling staff have tapped into its versatility to connect with students and empower them through gameplay. The Center for Mental Health Care and Resources (CMHCR), a department within Student Engagement and Well-Being, will begin its second year of hosting the RPG Therapy Group in the fall semester, using a modified version of D&D and other tabletop RPGs as a therapy tool. 

“The group is about soft skills and social skills development, less so traditional talk therapy,” Tara Holdampf, a satellite counselor in the College of Sciences and one of the group’s founders, said. “Those skills are practiced and acquired through the expression of gameplay. It’s fantasy, it’s play, but it’s also therapy.”

Holdampf and co-leader Andrew Stochel, a staff psychologist at CMHCR, guide a semester-long campaign with a small group of students during the fall and spring terms. But the group isn’t all fun and games — campaigns are carefully designed with tailored scenarios that encourage teamwork, self-advocacy, critical thinking, and other skills that are important for the students’ personal growth and mental well-being. Participants are even encouraged to give their characters traits and abilities that they want to improve for themselves in real life, like being more outspoken or navigating difficult social situations.

“During the intake process, we talk about what things they want to address, and it gives them the opportunity to think through what they need,” Holdampf said. “For example, maybe they’re dealing with a breakup where friends were lost, and in the game, they can focus on how to make new friends. Typically, they play a character as an ideal version of self or maybe use their character as a way to explore a perceived flaw, and it’s become a safe environment for them to practice their skills.”

Stochel, who serves as the party’s Dungeon Master and directs the group through the campaign, said that many of the students who join the group identify social skills as something they want to work on. In addition to modifying the game scenarios to encourage collaboration with each other, Stochel and Holdampf have also begun to bring in other counselors to give participants more campaign characters to interact with. 

“The campaign often involves a lot of puzzle-solving and the making of team decisions and how a team operates,” he said. “A newer component we’ve had was dealing with what we call ‘NPCs’ [non-player characters], so it’s now also not just solving a puzzle, but how do you interact with this character? Other counselors will come in to play the NPCs, and participants have to think about what they need from this person and how they’re going to communicate.”

After two semesters of running the group, members report that they feel the group is a safe and supportive environment, that it has provided them with valuable insights on their personal goals and concerns, and that the sessions were helpful in their personal growth and well-being. Stochel and Holdampf use the feedback gathered from participants to make process improvements, adapt campaigns, and continue to meet students’ needs. 

“We’re still working out the kinks and trying to find the balance between therapy and the game,” Holdampf said. “We’ve been finding that balance by using the students’ feedback. We’re going to keep looking for feedback to grow the group in ways that are beneficial.”

Using role-playing games as a therapeutic tool is a growing trend within higher education, and other state institutions like Georgia Southern University have run similar programs that aided CMHCR’s counseling staff in starting their group. Holdampf attributed the method’s rising popularity, both regionally and nationally, to its unique and fun approach to the serious topic of mental health. 

“There are a lot of students who have social issues that affect their mental health, like loneliness, lack of support, and anxiety,” she said. “Exposure is a great way to help with this. It’s play, it’s fun, and it’s fostering growth and social connection that is unique to this kind of group. It’s unlike anything else that we do.”

Stochel confirmed that the social aspect of the group is key to the students’ development and said that while the students are practicing their social skills in the fantasy world of D&D, they are also building real-life connections.

“There is a feeling of being close-knit at the end of the group,” he said. “They start out as strangers but end up with camaraderie. It’s wonderful to see the closeness that develops between the students.”

The RPG Therapy Group is one of many being offered in the upcoming fall semester as part of CMHCR’s regular services for students. Students who are interested in group counseling or any other mental health services can schedule an intake appointment by calling 404.894.2575 or walking into the CMHCR office in the Smithgall Student Services Building Suite 238 during business hours, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday. 

After-hours counseling for students in crisis is available through the main office number, and students experiencing an emergency should call the Georgia Tech Police Department at 404.894.2500.