This course will explore the potential for psychological growth through analog role-playing games (RPGs). These games involve spontaneous, improvisational co-creation in which participants enact characters in a fictional world. These characters can be quite similar to their self-concept or distinct. Such play allows for a process of group individuation to occur, in which players participate in a form of active imagination and engage with archetypal content through their characters, the stories, and their interactions with others. This playfulness takes place inside what is often called the “magic circle” of play, in which players have permission to experiment with different ways of being, behaving, and relating.
Whether these games take place in leisure, educational, or therapeutic settings, these spaces can become transformational containers from which players can distill insights leading to lasting personal and social change. This potential is increasingly explored by therapists and educators working with tabletop, freeform, and live action role-playing games. This series will discuss archetypal engagement woven into the design of several of games, including archetypes such as the Sage, the Witch, the Trickster, the Divine, and the Mother. We will also explore the types of cognitive, affective, and behavioral skills that role-playing games can practice.
Dates: February 5, 12, 19, 26, 2025