The ETSU Counseling Center provides continuous support for all students who may find themselves needing therapeutic services during the academic school year. Among the services available, the Dungeons and Dragons Therapy Group allows participants to indulge in their interests, gain support systems and find community while connecting with others through “geek therapy.”
“Geek therapy incorporates anime, comics, gaming and other ‘geek-culture’ affinities into the therapeutic process,” Counseling Center Interim Director and Associate Director of Training Sarah Bedingfield wrote in an email. After an intern introduced the idea of the social game DnD in January, the idea grew and is now led by Staff Counselor Rachel Ratley to connect with students in a new way.
Through knowledge of student lifestyle on campus, the center learned about the popular interest in DnD and worked to create sessions that would function with the game’s longitudinal style, meaning consistent follow-ups are needed for the game to play out. The center hopes to have two groups for next semester seeing that their original group filled up quickly and to introduce a new, shorter version of the sessions called “one-shot” if student demand is high.
The use of role-play in the game’s nature demands each session to be a closed group and enables close-knit groups to build rapport, learn about each other and share trust in an innovative fashion.
“Not only is this fun, but it is therapeutic and creates a social atmosphere with peers and the ability to not be alone in dealing with common issues like anxiety, depression, social anxiety, adjustment, fears,” Bedingfield shared.
Students can get involved by following the process online the Counseling Center has set up for individual and group sessions. After a needs assessment is completed, they can request a group that fits their interest.
To learn more about the groups offered, visit https://www.etsu.edu/students/counseling/services/groups.php.
