Therapy & Dragons
Table Top Role Playing Games are a fun and interactive activity, but not many people realize the benefits of games like Dungeons and Dragons. The opportunity to play a character in a fantasy world where they are faced with problems they must solve a team of other people naturally creates opportunities to practice problem solving, interpersonal and communication skills, self-regulation, and tap into emotions that can usually be uncomfortable. Therapeutic applications of role playing games is a newer area of research highlighting positive outcomes for people of all ages. These groups will be for everyone regardless of their familiarity with playing table tops role playing games or fantasy games.
I am training under the Games to Grow method
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All campaigns are from Critical Core.
Critical Core is a social-skills intervention in the form of a tabletop role playing game. Developed under the guidance of therapists and child psychiatrists and using the practices developed by Game to Grow’s founders Adam Davis and Adam Johns, the game invites individuals of all ages to enter a shared world of fantasy, consequence, and social problem solving.
Critical Core combines modern developmental therapies with the mechanics of tabletop role-playing games to help people connect with their family, friends, and the world around them. Players learn communication and collaboration skills, develop frustration tolerance and emotional resilience, and build empathy for others, all while rolling dice and having fun.
Typical Group Structure
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10 minute check in
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80 minute game time
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30 minute processing and check out
For Teens: This is a closed 10 week long group where up to 5 high school aged participants at a time will play a campaign focused on building interpersonal and social/emotional skills, while having a fun role playing experience. Group Campaigns and dates are listed below.
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When: Every Tuesday 4:30pm to 6:30pm
For Adults: This a once a month group that will meet for 10 months where up to 6 participants will play a campaign focused on developing perspective taking, theory of mind and expanding pretend play.
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When: First Friday of the month 6pm to 8pm
​​Cost: $80 per 2 hour group session
Where: Gebhard Manor: 2253 N. Downing St. Denver, CO 80205
Contact: James Nee at JNee@TheRoadLessTraveledCounseling.com​ for more information and to register
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- Upcoming Groups -
The Festival of the Birds
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Running High School Age
March 12th 2024 to May 14th 2024, Tuesdays from 4:30pm to 6:30pm
Therapeutic Focus
This adventure module, “The Festival of the Birds”, provides opportunities for developing strengths in perspective taking, theory of mind and expanding pretend play.
Plot Summary
If there is one thing that makes the long and arduous journey through the swamps worth the effort, it is the sight of Myren. Fantastic and exotic birds of every species flock to the town, and even from a distance the streets seem to shimmer with color and movement. The heroic deeds of the party have caused a minor sensation in the area, and Myren’s Mayor Separdus has invited them to be guests of honor at the annual Festival of the Birds, a lavish celebration held in the center of town. The party arrives in Myren the night before the festival and enjoys a feast of “Myren’s Finest” at the Duck’s Nest Inn. Their evening is cut short, however, when the town guard’s Captain Tenali arrives, covered in bug bites, and announces that the unthinkable has happened. The centerpiece of the celebration, Myren’s treasured bird statue, has been stolen! As a result, the bugs from the nearby swamp begin to attack the citizens, and all of the birds in the area that haven’t flflown away begin behaving strangely. The heroes travel through town to the Mayor’s House to meet with Mayor Separdus, who quickly enlists the heroes’ help to track the thief, retrieve the statue, and save the town.
The Age of Green
​Running High School Age
June 4th to August 6th 2024, Tuesdays from 4:30pm to 6:30pm
Therapeutic Focus
This adventure module, “The Age of Green”, provides opportunities for developing strengths in perspective taking, theory of mind and expanding pretend play.
Plot Summary
The town of Fildree requests the help of the party as diplomats to build friendly relations with a nearby city of secretive druids. As the party travels into the dangerous Living Woods, they find out that the druids have all been chased out by plants. They meet the Herald of the Age of Green, who tells them that this is just the beginning of the plants reclaiming dominance in Toverus.
The Academy of the Gifted
​Running High School Age
September 3rd to November 5th 2024, Tuesdays from 4:30pm to 6:30pm
Therapeutic Focus
This adventure module is a homebrew inspired by the Critical Core modules. “The Academy of the Gifted”, provides opportunities for developing strengths in perspective taking, regulation, theory of mind and expanding pretend play.
Plot Summary
In an alternate universe, not unlike our own, people are born with Gifts from an unknown origin. Believed to be bestowed by those chosen by a Divine Force, the world has globalized under 1 theocracy. A small group of teens that are attending the Academy of the Gifted to learn how to use their gifts in service of the government embark on an adventure to uncover the truth behind the Gifts and discover creatures and secrets they never dreamed possible.
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For more information or to register for a group, email James Nee at JNee@TheRoadLessTraveledCounseling.com