Phoenix Rising Counselling

What Is D&D Therapy?

This is genuine group therapy that uses collaborative storytelling through Dungeons & Dragons as the container for emotional exploration. We create characters, face challenges together, and work through real emotions using narrative and play. It's not just gaming—it's a legitimate therapeutic space where you can work on confidence, assertiveness, identity, relationships, grief, boundaries, and emotional regulation.

Think of D&D as a metaphorical playground where your real-life patterns emerge, you can experiment with new ways of being, and a qualified therapist helps you understand what that all means.

Why D&D Works as Therapy

Safe Distance Through Character: You're not directly exposed. Your character takes the risks, faces the challenges, makes the choices. This means you can explore difficult emotions and situations from a place of safety. You can be brave when it's your character. Then you realize: "Wait, I did that. *I* was brave."

Real Emotion Works Through Play: Your character's failures, victories, and betrayals trigger genuine emotion—pride, grief, fear. That's where the therapeutic work happens. We pause, notice what surfaced, and connect it to your actual life. The game is the container; the emotion is the work.

Collaboration & Agency: You're not at the mercy of the dungeon master. You make real decisions that affect the story. You negotiate, you problem-solve, you choose your approach. That agency—"I decided how to handle this"—is empowering and confidence-building.

Group Connection: You're building a shared story with other people. You witness their struggles, their bravery, their choices. They witness yours. That creates belonging without it feeling forced. You're in a group of weirdos doing weird things together—which is exactly why it works for people who've never felt like they fit.

Patterns Emerge Naturally: How you play reflects how you live. Do you always take the safest option? Do you struggle to say no to the group? Do you take charge or fade into the background? The game reveals these patterns organically, without anyone diagnosing you. Then we can look at them: "Interesting. You did X in the game. Do you notice that showing up in your real life?"

Neurodivergence-Friendly: D&D has structure (rules) and creativity (narrative). It's acceptable to be intense, weird, or different. In fact, that's the whole point. For autistic folks, ADHD folks, people with anxiety—there's no "normal" to measure yourself against. You're just being yourself in a story.

Who Is This For?

Anyone interested in group therapy who finds traditional talk-based groups awkward or less engaging. Especially suits:

• Neurodivergent folks (autism, ADHD, anxiety)
• Gamers or people interested in TTRPGs
• Creatives who process through narrative and metaphor
• Trauma survivors who need a sense of control
• People who struggle with direct vulnerability but can access it through play
• Anyone seeking community and connection

No D&D experience needed. You'll learn the basics in the group. This is story first, gaming second.

Group Structure

Small groups (4-6 people) meet regularly on a set schedule. Sessions combine gameplay with therapeutic reflection. There's clear structure: we play, we reflect on what themes emerged, we ground back in reality. It's boundaried, confidential, and safe.

Each group starts a fresh story that they create together. This is a perfect place to include parts of who you are and/or who you want to be into the world. This allows us to explore that part of ourselves, with a group and a living world to engage with.

Common Questions

This Is Real Therapy: Research supports TTRPG-based therapy. Your character becomes a mirror for real-world patterns. Emotions surface through play. We pause and reflect: what showed up for your character? What does that reveal about you? How does it connect to your actual life? That's the therapeutic work.

What if I'm not good at D&D? Irrelevant. This isn't about gaming skill. A "bad" decision in-game often reveals exactly what matters therapeutically. Your character's fears, choices, and hesitations show real patterns.

Will I really open up? Yes, because you're doing it through your character. People share vulnerabilities through metaphor that they'd struggle to say directly. By the time you realize you've been emotionally honest, you've already done the work. That's the power of it.

What happens if someone's really disruptive? Group confidentiality and boundaries are non-negotiable. If someone isn't respecting the space, we address it directly. This is still therapy, so professional standards apply. The group is a safe container for real work.