Foundations of Therapeutically Applied Role-Playing Games in Group Therapy
Friday August 14, 2026
10:00am – 2:30pm CT
4 CE Hours (NBCC approved)
Join Dr. Allison Battles and Level Up Your Practice!
Play is powerful and not just for fun. For mental health professionals, it can be a powerful vehicle for clinical change.
This interactive training introduces you to the growing field of therapeutically applied role-playing games (TA-RPGs), where the healing power of play meets evidence-based group therapy. Participants can earn 4 CE hours (NBCC approved) and access to a free monthly consultation group.
Tabletop role-playing games, like Dungeons & Dragons, are no longer just for the gaming table. This workshop shows you how to intentionally integrate them into clinical practice, drawing on current research, clinical theory, interactive exercises, and real case examples to explore how TA-RPGs can facilitate meaningful growth across a range of presenting concerns and populations.
What You’ll Learn
Walk away with a comprehensive foundation in Therapeutically Applied Role-Playing Games (TA-RPGs), from the research base to real-world implementation. This training covers:
The Science and Theory Behind TA-RPGs: Understand what sets TA-RPGs apart from recreational gaming, explore the emerging evidence base, and discover the key theoretical frameworks and group psychotherapy models that inform this approach.
How TA-RPGs Work: Go beyond the “what” and into the “how.” Explore the core mechanisms of change in TA-RPGs and see how they connect to transdiagnostic treatment targets through real clinical case examples.
Mapping Gameplay onto Therapeutic Process: Learn how specific elements of gameplay map onto the therapeutic process and serve distinct therapeutic functions.
Intervention Structure and Session Flow: Get a practical overview of how a TA-RPG group is structured from start to finish, including treatment phases and what a typical session actually looks like.
Therapeutic Gameplay Interventions: Explore how therapeutic processes can be intentionally embedded within gameplay and practice facilitation techniques through collaborative, hands-on exercises.
Facilitation and Implementation: Examine the unique role of the TA-RPG facilitator and the practical considerations for developing and delivering a program safely and effectively across a range of settings and populations.
Learning Objectives
After completing the program, participants will be able to:
- Describe what therapeutically applied role-playing games (TA-RPG) are and how TA-RPG differ from recreational tabletop role-playing gaming.
- Analyze the empirical literature and theoretical frameworks underlying TA-RPG groups.
- Explain core mechanisms of change in TA-RPG groups and how they relate to therapeutic outcomes.
- Identify treatment targets and diagnostic considerations within TA-RPG groups.
- Describe session structure, facilitation practices, documentation requirements, and ethical, accessibility, and cultural considerations in TA-RPG groups.
- Discuss the potential benefits and risks of engaging in TA-RPG with stakeholders such as clients, parents, and program administrators.
Register here today!
https://TA-RPGFoundations.eventbrite.com
TA-RPG Intensive Training Group
Want a deeper dive into running TA-RPG groups? Join our 6-week intensive training group, Critical Encounters!
This 6-week intensive helps mental health professionals, graduate students, and other healing professionals get hands-on training in TA-RPGs. This group is great for those who want to build competency in facilitating TA-RPG groups. This isn’t a lecture series or a passive webinar, this is experiential learning at its best.
You will get to experience a TA-RPG group first hand with Dr. Allison Battles, a certified therapeutic game master who has been facilitating TA-RPG groups since 2019. As a participant, you will get to see what therapeutic gaming is like as a player, including therapeutic character design, growth-oriented role-playing, reflective processing of group experiences, as well as learn about the TA-RPG process through didactic readings and discussions during each session.
Participants will:
- Receive carefully curated reading materials to support skill development
- Create and role-play characters in a structured therapeutic gaming group
- Experience group dynamics firsthand from the participant perspective
- Practice narrative storytelling, collaborative problem-solving, and emotional exploration through gameplay
- Build an intuitive, experiential understanding of how to structure, facilitate, and deepen the TA-RPG group process
- Engage in post-session processing and receive didactic instruction connecting the game experience to therapeutic group theory and techniques
Each 2-hour weekly session includes:
- 10-minute group check-in
- 80-minute guided gameplay
- 30-minute didactic and consultation
By the end of this training, you’ll walk away with:
- A strong experiential foundation in how TA-RPGs function as therapy
- New techniques and strategies to enhance your therapeutic Game Mastering (GM) skills
- Materials to support the creation and facilitation of your own TA-RPG group
- Confidence in navigating group dynamics, emotional content, and collaborative storytelling in your own groups
- A professional community of colleagues to consult with and share resources
Cost: $100 per session
Format: Virtual (Telehealth platform)
Group Size: Capped at 6 participants to ensure personal attention
This training is a must for providers wanting to infuse their clinical work with creativity, experiential depth, and a little bit of magic. Spots are limited! Contact us today to schedule a consultation and reserve your place.
Supervision for Pre-Licensed Clinicians
Dr. Battles’ offers clinical supervision for pre-licensed professionals working toward licensure in psychology, counseling, or social work. Supervision is rooted in a relational and developmental approach, emphasizing reflective practice, ethical clinical decision-making, and growth of professional identity.
Whether you’re deepening your work with trauma, exploring group facilitation, or developing your voice as a socially conscious clinician, we will co-create a supervision space that supports your evolving goals.
Areas of focus can include:
- Trauma-informed care and recovery-oriented practices
- Relational, dynamic, and narrative therapy approaches
- Culturally attuned therapy with Queer, Pagan, and/or military/veteran clients
- Group therapy and therapeutically applied role-playing games (TA-RPGs)
- Integration of social justice, identity, and activism into clinical work
Supervision is offered virtually to clinicians located in states where I am authorized to provide services.
Professional Consultation for Therapists, Healers, Educators & Community Leaders
Dr. Battles offers individual and small-group consultation for professionals seeking support in integrating creative, trauma-informed, and identity-affirming approaches into their work. This space is designed for therapists, community leaders, educators, and game masters who want to grow their skills, reflect on complex work, or deepen their commitment to healing-centered and justice-aligned practice.
Common consultation topics include:
- Working with trauma and dissociation
- Facilitating TA-RPG therapy groups or integrating games therapeutically
- Supporting Queer, Pagan, and spiritually diverse clients
- Addressing burnout, vicarious trauma, and moral injury in healing professions
- Strengthening relational and group facilitation skills
- Building inclusive, culturally aware, and socially conscious services
Consultation can be one-time or ongoing, and is tailored to your goals and context.
Custom Trainings for Organizations, Schools, and Workplaces
We design and facilitate custom trainings for therapy practices, community organizations, schools, and companies that are committed to fostering resilience, inclusivity, and holistic well-being. These trainings draw from evidence-based practice, clinical expertise, and culturally rooted wisdom to help teams build trauma-aware and socially conscious environments.
Trainings are tailored to meet the needs of your group, and may explore topics such as:
- Understanding trauma and pathways to healing
- Creating trauma-aware workplaces and community spaces
- Introduction to TA-RPGs and therapeutic gaming for mental health and growth
- Supporting LGBTQIA+ clients and communities with sensitivity and depth
- Understanding and working with military members and Veterans
- Culturally humble approaches to working with Pagan and other spiritual communities
- Integrating spirituality into healing practices in ethical, inclusive ways
- Using storytelling, ritual, and self-reflection to foster connection and transformation
- Exploring tools for holistic healing such as tarot, Reiki / energy work, meditation, and shadow work
- Addressing clinician and healer burnout, compassion fatigue, and vicarious trauma
Whether you’re looking to support your staff, train clinicians, or build healing-centered community programs, We’ll work with you to create something engaging, relevant, and transformative. Trainings are available in-person (Twin Cities area and beyond) or virtually.
Dr. Battles’ Credentials
- Certified Therapeutic Game Master through Geek Therapeutics, an APA-approved training program specializing in the clinical application of games like Dungeons & Dragons in therapeutic settings.
- Level 3 Certified Facilitator through Game to Grow, a nationally recognized leader in therapeutically-applied role-playing games. Completed all three levels of training in the Game to Grow method.
- Advanced Post-Doctoral Residency in Group Therapy at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, with specialized focus in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), TA-RPGs, trauma recovery, and psychoeducational group models.
- Published in multiple peer-reviewed journals, including the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Journal of Traumatic Stress, Traumatology, Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Women’s Health Issues, Psychiatry Research, and the Journal for Community Engagement and Scholarship.
- Experienced national, regional, and local trainer on topics including trauma recovery, creating trauma-informed workplaces and communities, therapeutic gaming (TA-RPGs), spiritually integrative care, and culturally humble care for marginalized communities.
- Selected presentations include national organizations such as Walgreens, Disability:IN, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, the American Psychological Association, the American Group Psychotherapy Association, and the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, as well as national and local gaming conventions including PAX East. I have also presented workshops and trainings for numerous local and regional mental health clinics, community organizations, and universities.
- In progress: Board Certification in Group Psychology (ABPP)—a designation that recognizes advanced competence in group therapy through rigorous evaluation of clinical expertise, scholarship, and ethical practice.