Title: Therapeutic Use of Role-Playing Game (RPG) in Mental Health: A Scoping Review
Authors: Daniel Luccas Arenas, Anna Viduani, and Renata Brasil Araujo
Abstract:
Background: Role-playing game (RPG) is a term that covers a series of forms and styles of games that involve, in some way, the creation, representation and progression of characters who interact in a fictional world under a system of structured rules. Its applications and effects on human behavior and mental health are, however, still an underexplored area.
Methods: A scoping review was performed on the literature about RPGs as a therapeutic tool or prevention strategy in psychotherapies and mental health, highlighting studies’ populations, forms of RPG and interventions used. To that, a systematic search in the PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, BVS/LILACS databases and grey literature was performed.
Results: Of the 4,069 studies reviewed, 50 sources of evidence were included. The majority was published as of 2011 (78%) in journals (62%) and targeted therapeutic uses of RPGs (84%). Most interventions used computer (50%) or tabletop RPGs (44%), mostly with cognitive and/or behavioral (52%) therapeutical approaches and targeting adolescents (70%).
Collection Notes:
Role playing games (RPGs) as a form of therapy is something I have experienced in my own life. This article, while a very dense read, highlights some interesting examples of how RPGs have helped people therapeutically. One such case they highlight that stood out to me was using the game Call of Cuthulu to “help reframe the illness of a 27-year-old depressed woman and promote greater self-efficacy through a psychodrama approach” (page 294). There are many more such examples highlighted in this text that provide unique insights on how this type of therapy can assist with many different conditions.
-Maddie Veccia
Availability: Outside Link
URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/10468781211073720
Citation for IMlibrary commentary: Arenas, D. L., Viduani, A., & Araujo, R. B. (2022). Therapeutic Use of Role-Playing Game (RPG) in Mental Health: A Scoping Review. Simulation & Gaming, 53(3), 285-311. https://doi.org/10.1177/10468781211073720
