Dice – Phase 2 and 3 A substantial part of D&D is based on chance. With each spell cast, sword swung, and arrow loosed, a twenty-sided dice (d20) is rolled to determine if the character hits its target, sneaks through a crowded inn unseen and unheard, recalls a piece of history or lore, or even persuades the king of the country that they are in fact, long-lost brothers.
With so many sides to the dice, it is up to the therapist DM to decide what will constitute a success or a failure in any given situation. Generally, if the dice lands on a 20, the player automatically succeeds, and if the dice lands on a 1, the player automatically fails. What those successes and failures look like can vary vastly. Role- playing game designer John Wick asks a player who is succeeding information about how the client sees themselves, others, and the world.
Success and failure are natural parts of life. The goal of letting clients decide how they succeed and fail is that they have a choice in how they respond to that success or failure (Hartwig et al., 2024). The dice are already rolled, and they cannot change the result; what they have control over is what happens next, and it is easier for some clients to practice emotions that come with successes and failures when they do not impact their real-world lives. The therapist can ask questions about how that might look, and then after the interaction is over, they can metacommunicate how that might translate in the client’s real life. Metacommunication is when the therapist “steps outside the interaction and communicates about the communication example, if a client fails on a spell attack roll and they are unable to attain an item they’ve been working for, the therapist would ask, make. They can cast Fireball and incinerate the person who has the item, possibly harming innocent bystanders. Another option is to take a breath and try to get the item by other means. A third option is to let the item go and begin a search for something new. All of these options have potential consequences for the character, and they all give the therapist insight and information about the client and how they manage personal failures.
Role-Playing and Acting “As If” – All Phases Dungeons and Dragons can only exist with role-playing. In therapeutic D&D, the therapist role-plays numerous characters and monsters alongside the client who is role-playing the character they have created. The therapist may have to lead this role-play as a model to allow the client to immerse themselves into their character and explore who they are and what they sound like in this new environment (Deterding, 2017).
Role-playing also provides an opportunity to practice non-threatening social interactions without real-world consequences (Henrich &
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Worthington, 2021). Clients can interact with other characters through is at the therapist/DM’s discretion. For Adlerian play therapists, the choice of how to manage these interactions depends on the “small ‘a’
Likewise, if a client struggles with feeling capable—one of the four Crucial Cs developed by Amy Lew and Betty Lou Bettner (2002)—the therapist might have a more combat-heavy session where the client’s character can defeat a monster using their unique skills (Kottman & Meany-Walen, 2016). Throughout the combat, the therapist would metacommunicate what was going on, and take guesses about how without the aid of others. Afterward, or between game play sessions, the therapist can help the client gain insight by connecting their character’s actions, thoughts, or feelings with their own.
gain insight surrounding their private logic—the Adlerian concept about how people uniquely interpret the world around them—where that formed their private logic were accurate and true (Kottman & Meany-Walen, 2016). When clients are attuned to their characters, they can easily borrow skills and attributes from the character (Causo & Quinlan, 2021). For example, suppose a client struggles with being assertive and knows they will have to confront a friend about a situation the next time they see them; in that case, the therapist therapy, the therapist can role-play these interactions in or out of the game with the client and encourage them to continue to role- play scenarios as needed outside of treatment so that when the it was their character’s interaction. Afterward, the therapist can help the client gain insight into how the client can continue to embody those traits. If the client is ready, the therapist can help them gain insight into how that part of the character might have been part of the client all along.
Limitless Possibilities Dungeons and Dragons offers a unique, and oftentimes even fun, way of gaining insight into thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Even though I have clients intentionally focus on something they want to achieve from their characters, I have not played a D&D character that I have not put a piece of myself into, intentionally or not. Through game play, clients learn, practice, and hone skills, expand their window of tolerance, and gain unique and non-threatening insights into themselves.
When the therapist speaks the same language as the client, they communicate more effectively. Dungeons and Dragons is a form of
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