Social Isolation to Social Opportunities

Our Ever Increasing Isolation

As people emerge from over a year of isolation, quarantining and wearing masks which cover up important parts of how we as people pick up on non-verbal cues we are realizing just how isolated we are. I have clients who have experienced greater levels of social anxiety and fears about how to make friends, engage in small talk and create lasting connections.

And what makes this worse is that this feeling of isolation and loneliness is really only a continuation of something that has been building in our culture for generations. In recent studies that compared the generations of children born post WWII, Millennials and Gen Z both experience much more loneliness (8 in 10 Gen Zers and 7 in 10 Millennials compared to 5 in 10 Boomers).

This has led to an explosion of individuals seeking mental health care for themselves and for their teens. And here is the thing, only so much social-emotional progress can be accomplished in a one-on-one therapy session.

Social Growth Opportunities

Games, Goals, Growth looks at the situation of increasing loneliness and social isolation as an opportunity to provide a unique style of group therapy to build skills and social connections that can assist in overcoming these challenges. Our unique approach uses table top games and role playing games.

Role playing games (like Dungeons and Dragons) provide a space where clients get to create characters that can have skills or weaknesses that they themselves have. Players can creatively engage with an imaginative world where there is a little distance between themselves and the characters they play, allowing them to take risks that they might not in real life. They engage within the limits of the game but they do so collaboratively with others, navigating social conflicts and building connections over shared experiences.

In many studies, group participation in role playing games has been shown to reduce social anxiety, create significant friendships, strengthen emotional regulation, and build creative problem solving. All of which are incredibly important for us all in a world with increasing challenges to connection.