{"683144":{"#nid":"683144","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Students Level Up Social Skills through Group Therapy Gameplay ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EYour 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.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYour palms sweat with the importance of this mission \u2014 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\u2019ve been given the task of persuading them to part with it.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYou step forward, bowing respectfully to the council, before opening your mouth to \u2026 ask for a Persuasion check.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis 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 \u2014 or \u201cparty\u201d \u2014 complete elaborate campaigns.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s a game that is only limited by the players\u2019 imaginations, and Georgia Tech\u2019s counseling staff have tapped into its versatility to connect with students and empower them through gameplay. The \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/mentalhealth.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECenter for Mental Health Care and Resources\u003C\/a\u003E (CMHCR), a department within \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/students.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EStudent Engagement and Well-Being\u003C\/a\u003E, will begin its second year of hosting the RPG Therapy Group in the fall semester, using a modified version of D\u0026amp;D and other tabletop RPGs as a therapy tool.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe group is about soft skills and social skills development, less so traditional talk therapy,\u201d Tara Holdampf, a satellite counselor in the College of Sciences and one of the group\u2019s founders, said. \u201cThose skills are practiced and acquired through the expression of gameplay. It\u2019s fantasy, it\u2019s play, but it\u2019s also therapy.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHoldampf 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\u2019t all fun and games \u2014 campaigns are carefully designed with tailored scenarios that encourage teamwork, self-advocacy, critical thinking, and other skills that are important for the students\u2019 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.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cDuring the intake process, we talk about what things they want to address, and it gives them the opportunity to think through what they need,\u201d Holdampf said. \u201cFor example, maybe they\u2019re 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\u2019s become a safe environment for them to practice their skills.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStochel, who serves as the party\u2019s 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.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe campaign often involves a lot of puzzle-solving and the making of team decisions and how a team operates,\u201d he said. \u201cA newer component we\u2019ve had was dealing with what we call \u2018NPCs\u2019 [non-player characters], so it\u2019s 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\u2019re going to communicate.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter 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\u2019 needs.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re still working out the kinks and trying to find the balance between therapy and the game,\u201d Holdampf said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been finding that balance by using the students\u2019 feedback. We\u2019re going to keep looking for feedback to grow the group in ways that are beneficial.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUsing role-playing games as a therapeutic tool is a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.apa.org\/monitor\/2025\/04-05\/role-playing-games-therapy\u0022\u003Egrowing trend\u003C\/a\u003E within higher education, and other state institutions like \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.georgiasouthern.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Southern University\u003C\/a\u003E have run similar programs that aided CMHCR\u2019s counseling staff in starting their group. Holdampf attributed the method\u2019s rising popularity, both regionally and nationally, to its unique and fun approach to the serious topic of mental health.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere are a lot of students who have social issues that affect their mental health, like loneliness, lack of support, and anxiety,\u201d she said. \u201cExposure is a great way to help with this. It\u2019s play, it\u2019s fun, and it\u2019s fostering growth and social connection that is unique to this kind of group. It\u2019s unlike anything else that we do.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStochel confirmed that the social aspect of the group is key to the students\u2019 development and said that while the students are practicing their social skills in the fantasy world of D\u0026amp;D, they are also building real-life connections.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere is a feeling of being close-knit at the end of the group,\u201d he said. \u201cThey start out as strangers but end up with camaraderie. It\u2019s wonderful to see the closeness that develops between the students.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe RPG Therapy Group is one of many being offered in the upcoming fall semester as part of CMHCR\u2019s 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.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter-hours counseling for students in crisis is available through the main office number, and students experiencing an emergency should call the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/police.gatech.edu\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Police Department\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;at 404.894.2500.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ECounselors from the Center for Mental Health Care and Resources guide a semester-long RPG campaign with a small group of students during the fall and spring terms. But the group isn\u2019t all fun and games \u2014 campaigns are carefully designed with tailored scenarios that encourage teamwork, self-advocacy, critical thinking, and other skills that are important for the students\u2019 personal growth and mental well-being.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The Center for Mental Health Care and Resources will begin its second year of hosting the RPG Therapy Group in the fall semester, using tabletop roleplay games like Dungeons and Dragons as a therapy tool."}],"uid":"36479","created_gmt":"2025-07-15 20:03:14","changed_gmt":"2025-07-15 20:05:34","author":"abowman41","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-07-15T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-07-15T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"677426":{"id":"677426","type":"image","title":"DND-2.jpeg","body":null,"created":"1752609804","gmt_created":"2025-07-15 20:03:24","changed":"1752609804","gmt_changed":"2025-07-15 20:03:24","alt":"Colorful dice sit on a table","file":{"fid":"261322","name":"DND-2.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/07\/15\/DND-2.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/07\/15\/DND-2.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3694418,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/07\/15\/DND-2.jpeg?itok=KhtmHVvt"}}},"media_ids":["677426"],"groups":[{"id":"428961","name":"Health and Well-Being"},{"id":"652360","name":"Student Engagement and Well-Being"}],"categories":[{"id":"193234","name":"Campaign Stories"}],"keywords":[{"id":"193493","name":"Center for Mental Health Care and Resources"},{"id":"10343","name":"mental health"},{"id":"188164","name":"Student Engagement and Well-being"},{"id":"73391","name":"board game"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAuthor: Ashlie Bowman\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStudent Engagement and Well-Being\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}