Aside from their entertainment value, tabletop RPGs like D&D can help people master social skills and be used as an effective therapeutic tool.
In the early days of tabletop role-playing games, there was some confusion and controversy about Dungeons & Dragons and other first-generation TTRPGs, with some people expressing the view that the role-playing hobby would encourage reckless or delusional behavior among teenagers. Nowadays, though, psychologists and sociologists have discovered D&D and other tabletop RPGs can actually be beneficial to the mental and social health of their players. Some counselors have even gone so far as to use RPG games as a therapeutic tool for young and adult patients who need a safe, controlled space to master social skills and process stress in their lives.
When game designers like Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, M.A.R. Barker, and Greg Stafford created genre-defining role playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, Empire of the Petal Throne, and RuneQuest in the late 1970s, they were mainly focused on creating fun games kids and adults could enjoy; the mental/social benefits of dungeon-crawling and dice-rolling probably wasn't a primary concern at the time. Still, storytelling lies at the core of every role playing game, early or modern, and stories are one of most potent tools humankind has at their disposal. From the Stone Age to the present day, humans have used stories to preserve essential pieces of knowledge, warn against possible dangers, and simulate the outcomes of risky, complicated endeavors such as love and war. By creating a new framework for collaboratively telling stories, tabletop RPG game designers gave people new ways to express ideas, explore new worlds and ways of life, and broaden their worldview with the perspectives of others.
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The degree to which tabletop RPGs like D&D are a medium for personal growth depends a lot on the players participating in the game, their game master, the role-playing system itself, and the tone/duration of the scenario story. So-called Munchkins, Murder Hobos, That Guys, and Killer GMs can swiftly make a tabletop role-playing game session unpleasant for some or all members of the group, and it may be difficult to rein in toxic players or let quieter ones express their unease without RPG or D&D safety tools like the X Card or Lines and Veils in place. Still, with a system of trust in place and participants acting in good faith, a well-constructed tabletop RPG campaign can help players in numerous ways.
There’s a healthy amount of overlap between the improvised role-playing in Dungeons & Dragons or RuneQuest and the improvised role-playing of theater workshops or comedy troupes. Much like scenario scripts, icebreaker activities, and scene prompts in acting classes, a support structure for players to practice their acting skills and devise fictional personalities, life stories, and voices is built out of the character creation rules, gameplay mechanics, and settings of tabletop RPGs.
Players who aren’t as interested in hard-core role-playing or have trouble with socialization can also use tabletop RPGs as a safe space to practice their conversational skills. For instance, a player who's shy in most public situations can test out different diplomatic or aggressive approaches in interactions with the game’s non-player characters. Since there are virtually no real-world consequences tied to in-game conversations, shy players are capable of enjoying and learning from both their in-character triumphs and mistakes. In a play environment with clear lines of communication, players can also refine their empathy and cooperative skills under a fair, discerning tabletop RPG Game Master, learning how to better perceive and work with, rather than against, the thoughts, feelings, and desires of their fellow players.
Tabletop RPGs (and the many video games they inspired) have frequently been described as power fantasies or a form of wish fulfillment, letting players imagine themselves as idealized, more capable versions of themselves. While there can certainly be indulgent aspects to building oneself up as a hero in a fantasy world, the character-creating process intrinsic to most role-playing games can be a useful tool for those who want to broaden their understanding of not only themselves, but the people around them as well.
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An RPG player character and its playstyle, if inspired by aspects of a player's own personality, can be used to visualize ways of becoming more confident and outgoing in real life; alternately, flawed, fallible characters can be used to come to terms with one's personal frailties and imperfections. Role-playing PCs designed to be the opposite of their players can be useful tools for understanding different worldviews and proverbially walking in the shoes of others. In more recent years, both tabletop RPGs and computer/console RPGs have even been a catalyst for LGBTQ+ players to safely express their identities - the PCs they create, consciously or otherwise, being embodiments of the genders, sexualities, and orientations that ring more true to them.
There is a small but growing number of psychology professionals who use D&D or similar kid-friendly RPG systems as a therapeutic tool. Non-game role-playing exercises have been a staple tool of Cognitive Behavior Therapy and similar health-treatments approaches for decades, letting patients learn and practice techniques for managing stress, anxiety, anger, or difficult social situations. In this context, tabletop role-playing games are a tool well-suited to group therapy sessions with children, teenagers and young adults; the "adventuring party" cooperative dynamic of most RPG systems lets groups of patients solve problems in a wide variety of potential narrative scenarios, while the "fun game" aspect of RPGs encourages patients to relax and let down their barriers in a secure environment.
To make Dungeons & Dragons and similar RPGs more compatible with the professional and ethical demands of therapy and counseling, many therapists/GMs will periodically pause tabletop game sessions to check in with their patient-players, organize post-session discussion where patients can share their feelings about the game experience, introduce prompts and questions for the players to consider during play, etc. Like many other mental health treatment methodologies, tabletop RPG therapy is a tool meant to be adapted to fit specific patient needs, and works best with patients who are self-reflective, open to constructive feedback, and willing to discuss their thoughts and feelings with others.
A Chicago-based Writer, Author and freelance translator. Looking to prep his readers for the next renaissance or apocalypse, whichever comes first. Frequently publishes ScreenRant articles that explore the storytelling principles and design challenges of computer/tabletop RPGs along with small treatises on the history of influential game genres. Write and publishes web fiction under the pseudonym Aldo Salt on Inkshares.com.