{"id":743,"date":"2019-12-12T17:17:42","date_gmt":"2019-12-12T17:17:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/build.centerforemdd.com\/?page_id=743"},"modified":"2024-09-05T19:21:15","modified_gmt":"2024-09-05T19:21:15","slug":"pat-ormsby","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/emdd.bsu.edu\/index.php\/research\/pat-ormsby\/","title":{"rendered":"Tabletop Therapy: A Critical Collaboration for Change"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Critical Collaboration for <\/b>Change<\/b><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Pat Ormsby<\/b><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Play is one of the primary ways humans practice life skills needed to succeed.<\/b>\u00a0It reinforces a state of learning, real-time processing, and retaining information, all of which are valuable later in life (Darvasi, 2019). Games of all types are one of the most common methods of play because they provide a structure for play. One type of game called role-playing games (RPGs), has grown in popularity over the past few decades. According to D\u2019Amato (2019), role-playing games are \u201ca type of game where players generate stories through shared imagination\u201d (p. 13). In these games, players inhabit a role and interact with one another through shared imaginary spaces. These games all use specific systems to help give players goals, track important story information, and collaboratively build worlds for players. Most RPGs have a specialized role for one player to control story elements that are not actions taken by players. This role is known as the game manager (GM).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u00a0<\/p>

Play through structured role-playing games has been identified as particularly beneficial to help develop social, collaborative, and team-building skills (Daniau, 2016). Research has shown that not only do group therapy and RPGs have similar structures, but there has also been success cultivating a more safe and open space through exploring and confronting personal issues through a fictional avatar (McConnaughey, 2015). In this setting, certified counselors act as GMs building worlds and leading long stories called campaigns for their participants to roleplay over many sessions as their own characters. Many GMs will take a pre-written story element called modules and use them as a starting point for their groups and build a campaign off of. In these groups, counselors acting as GMs will combine narrative and role-play therapies into a game where players work together to improve problem solving skills, increase distress-tolerance, and increase critical thinking skills through tabletop RPGs (Mendoze, 2020). <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\tAlthough the demand for tabletop role-playing therapy is increasing, there is a lack of standardization and centralization of resources for this technique. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u00a0<\/div><\/div>

The use of role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons in group therapy settings is growing in popularity, with groups like Game to Grow and the Self-Rescuing Princessing leading the movement. These groups, and many others, use tabletop therapy to help their students practice navigating and overcoming different social challenges. These professional groups have been successful in providing services to individual groups in their communities but have not been efficient in supporting the growing demand.<\/span><\/p>

To address this growing need, this creative project focuses on the creation of a digital resource for counselors who want to use tabletop therapy. The goal is to teach counselors\u00a0 systems of tabletop gaming, assist in creating stories to meet the needs of their players, and share their own stories and experiences with other counselors through one digital channel. This resource will teach counselors the basics of how to run tabletop RPGs. It will also categorize game modules for use according to the social challenges they are intended to help players practice and also allow counselors to contribute their own modules for other counselors to use with their own groups.<\/span><\/p>

Contextual research design and digital prototyping will guide this process and the creation of a digital resource for counselors to use to learn the basics of tabletop game management, design their own campaign outlines based on the needs of their players, and contribute their own modules to share with other users. After contextual interviews with potential stakeholders, I will write a base of story modules, each categorized by which types of real-world situations they can help players practice. Through collaboration with experts in the counseling field, I will write and produce a series of training videos for new game managers. Information will be collected through design thinking exercises either in person or through video chat with potential stakeholders to identify the best method for users to share their own story content, which will add to the continuous updating of the website.<\/span><\/p>

As tabletop therapy is growing in popularity as a successful method of group therapy, a demand will grow for more resources, and through customization and user-generated content tabletop therapy will continue to change the lives of children facing autism spectrum disorder related social challenges. This digital resource will provide benefits for different stages of a users\u2019 journey and keep them engaged and returning to the platform. It will also help keep the method standardized across the space and be a resource for new and returning stakeholders to use for the benefit of their groups. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tExplore More Research<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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