As we say goodbye to 2020, which has been an incredibly challenging year for so many families around the world, we want to share an opportunity to end the year and transition into the next phase the same way that participants in our therapeutic Dungeons and Dragons groups end each session: with a “check-out” process. This important ritual is designed to support community, reframe challenges, and look ahead to the future.
As players conclude a session of their Dungeons and Dragons social skills group, before they leave for the day, facilitators lead them through three check-out questions:
- What is a spotlight you’d like to shine on someone else for enhancing your session in some way?
- What is something you found challenging or something you learned?
- What is something you are predicting or looking forward to for the next play session?
These check-out questions are explained in the Facilitator’s Guide included in the Critical Core Therapeutic RPG Starter Set. Trainees are provided a detailed breakdown for each question and why they’re invaluable for facilitating effective social skills groups in the Game to Grow training program for therapeutically applied role-playing games.
As helpful as they are to the players in our therapeutic gaming groups, we think they’ll also be helpful to wrap up 2020 and look ahead to 2021.
We invite you to take the challenge, and “check out” of 2020 by answering these three questions for yourself:
- What is something that made your year better? (Even better if you can single out a specific person and let them know!)
- What was a challenge you overcame or something you learned this year?
- What is something you’re looking forward to, or predicting will happen, in 2021?
Please share your check-outs on social media! Please make sure to tag @gametogrow and use the hashtag #2020checkout!
Game to Grow is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to the use of games of all kinds to enrich lives, strengthen communities, and support growth. Our therapeutic social skills groups use games like Dungeons and Dragons and Minecraft to help youth and adults around the world become more confident, creative, and socially capable. Learn more.