Posted October 18, 2025 by PsychHound
Just wanted to let everyone know the thesis has been published!
You can read it for free at this link here!
Here's the abstract:
This thesis aimed to further research on a growing method of play therapy, therapeutically applied role-playing games, and examine its users as a discourse community with shared but unmet needs. Several methods were taken to accomplish this goal. A literature review explored the current state of the research. Then, a study with 109 participants was conducted to deduce the connection between tabletop role-play and emotional resilience. Finally, five popular texts in the tabletop role-playing game genre were analyzed against seven criteria, synthesized from therapeutically applied role-playing game community experts, to determine if currently available texts fulfilled the needs of this community. The texts included Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition, New World of Darkness, Apocalypse Keys, Wanderhome, and Songs for the Dusk. This research found that the benefits of tabletop role-playing games are shared between clinical use and home use, but that currently available texts are not ideal for fulfilling therapeutic purposes. Therefore, the thesis includes the foundations of a new text that is designed to be perfectly suited to the requirements of this genre: a game called Spiritkeep. As the therapeutically applied role-playing field is growing in use by experts as well as in popular attention, the development of this new text has the potential for great impact in the role-playing community.
Questions, comments, concerns, or requests of collaboration can be sent to luka@psychhound.com :)