Game to Grow’s flagship therapeutic social skills group uses tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons to help participants build real-life social skills. Parents interested in Game to Grow groups and referring therapists sometimes have a loose idea of how our groups are structured, but aren’t sure of the what their kids and clients will be experiencing in a Game to Grow RPG group, much less how they will benefit. If that sounds like you, please start here: What exactly is a tabletop role-playing game, anyway?
Why Tabletop Role-Playing Games?
We use tabletop role-playing games to help teens, adolescents, and emerging adults become more confident, creative, and socially capable. The inherent benefits of tabletop role-playing games are numerous, and become even more beneficial if intentionally facilitated by a professional.
While we were brainstorming for a presentation at PAX South in 2016, we filled an entire whiteboard with reasons why tabletop role-playing games are inherently beneficial, and narrowed down the four main reasons we use tabletop role-playing games in our social skills groups. No matter the reason players decide to play these games, they are developing and practicing skills.
Tabletop role-playing games help players:
- Learn to take the perspectives of others
- Improve their frustration tolerance
- Develop their creative problem-solving skills
- Cultivate communication and collaboration skills
To top that off, they are fun!
Interested to know how our groups actually benefit families? Check out these testimonials from parents of our participants!