What is Dungeons & Dragons (D&D)?

To quote D&D’s official website, “In Dungeons & Dragons, the players form an adventuring party who explore fantasy worlds together as they embark on epic quests and level up in experience. The Dungeon Master (or Game Master, DM or GM, etc. ) is the game's referee and storyteller. There’s no winning or losing in D&D—at least, not in the conventional way.

At its heart, D&D is a game that focuses on storytelling. The dice just help you along. Everything is your decision, from what you look like, to how you act, to what happens next.

The collective creativity in your D&D game builds stories that you’ll tell again and again—ranging from the stuff of legend to absurd incidents that’ll make you laugh years later.” We here at The Quest Therapy don’t own D&D, but we love it fiercely and believe in its value as a mental health tool and the most fun you can have with a twenty-sided die.

What kind of gaming group is this? Is this therapy?

To be clear, this gaming group type is what is called Sub-clinical. The focus is not on individual, clinical-level mental health therapy, but instead on developing mental health skills and receiving psychoeducation; psychoeducation is defined as giving group members information and context about their mental health. The kind of group that our D&D therapy groups embodies best is a skills development group. Skills development groups center on introducing and sharpening the skills that members need to cope with difficulties that may damage or exacerbate their mental health. The overall goal lies in strengthening the members’ behavioral and mindfulness resources to help them make positive and adaptive choices and avoid complicating their situation by making suboptimal choices.

Does this kind of thing actually work?

Yes! There is more and more evidence-based research coming out every year on the value of tabletop role-playing games for therapeutic experiences. Multiple universities and psychological journals are publishing research each year on the topic, and you can find therapists across the country utilizing D&D as a tool in their therapeutic tool belt!

Organizations like the American Psychological Association and the National Board for Certified Counselors support certifications such as Certified Therapeutic Game Master, recognizing the psychological value of “real life, lived under imaginary circumstances”.

This looks fun! How do I sign up?

Step one is RIGHT HERE! When you sign up for more information with your email, we’ll send you a link to our Discord server where you’ll be assigned the New Recruit role! There, we have sign-ups for several different types of games that we run throughout the week/month/year. You’ll also be sent several consent forms that we need in order to add you to our list of approved Players. You’ll also need to attend a Session Zero meeting in order to start playing in our Quest games. Players who attend their Session Zero and have all forms on file will be assigned their Journeyman Adventurer Discord role, and are able to play!

What is a Session Zero meeting?

Session Zero is an orientation-style meeting, typically held 1-2x per month that gives new Players a chance to meet with one of our Therapeutic Game Masters face to face. It’s in this meeting that we’ll go over some ground rules for conduct, introduce the game setting, cover how to make a character and how the game is played. This is a time to ask lots of questions if you have them, as well as where we review our safety systems for player consent and wellbeing. It’s also where we’ll identify what personal mental health skills you want to work on, and work together on creating a character who lets you roleplay engaging with that skill or character trait you desire.

What does a typical D&D session look like?

Each game session is usually 3-4 hours long, and has a max of 4-5 Players. Each game session is run by an available Therapeutic Game Master.

Typically the first roughly 10 minutes of the session will be catching up on the events of the last session or world at large, making sure everyone is ready for the game to come, or perhaps hearing a brief bit about how group members used their skills throughout the prior week. Then, for next 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours of the session, the game is played and players have the chance to interact with the world, the story, and the other characters in the world, utilizing chances to act in ways they would want to behave or act outside of the game. In the last 10 to 20 minutes or so of session, we debrief and review things we liked about our actions, things we wish had gone differently, and support each other by encouraging group members who did well that session.

Typically, after a session there will be a recommended journaling prompt posted in the Discord after the game; this is an opportunity to recount the events of the game in first person, as your character. This not only serves as a chance to keep track of your adventure, but also a chance for you to take your time and explore why you act the way you do in-character, and how you’ll tackle the problems ahead of you using the skills your character has that we want to embody. It allows for other characters who are part of your “Guild” to bear witness to your mighty deeds, as well as provides you a point of Inspiration for your next adventure!

What type of D&D game will you be running?

Most of our games will feature our West Marches-style campaign setting, “The Expedition of Atollamu”. This is an original world setting where you play as an adventurer who has joined the Expeditioner’s Guild, a group dedicated to exploring, mapping, and defending the brave new continent of Atollamu in an ever-changing and evolving frontier. It has been tailored to put emphasis on individual players’ choices, room for growth, and maintaining an intrepid spirit and adventurous tone.

Depending on the availability of our Therapeutic Game Masters and the demand for it, we will also periodically offer a Campaign! A Campaign is an ongoing adventure where the party members are the same, and may be from an official D&D adventure module, or a Quest Therapy-exclusive adventure not necessarily set in the Atollamu setting.

Some of these groups will be specifically for special populations like neurodivergent, military, women-only groups, etc. based on demand and availability. If you’re interested in one of our Therapeutic Game Masters running a campaign for you and/or your friends, family, or others in your special population, let us know! We’d love to hear what our Players want to see, and more growth to witness when you get to drive the story that you want to tell.

What is a “West Marches” style game?

The term “West Marches” to describe a type of D&D game was created and publicized by a game master named Ben Robbins, based on a campaign he ran of the same name. The defining features of a West Marches campaign include irregular session times (meaning that sessions are scheduled by players and game masters based on their availability, not regularly-kept “strict” weekly scheduling), an irregular party (characters involved in each session are drawn from available player characters and also by character level) and involve player choice (i.e., if a player does not like the idea of hunting giant mutant rats in the settlement sewers, they can skip that mission and choose to play in a different game where your characters are tasked with mapping out an ancient fortress! Variety is the spice of life.~)

Beyond these, West Marches games tend to include the following:

• Session reports and other information about experiences are always shared between every participant in the campaign, whether they were present in a specific session or not. This keeps people informed about changes in the game world and lets any combination of players follow up on new quests and story hooks via in-character journals. Players who post first-person journals from their character’s perspective begin their next game session with a point of Inspiration (a free re-roll of a d20).

• There is a shared geographical map that the players are mapping, discovering, and establishing in each session played. the world changes for every character, even if they were not part of the group that made the discovery/change.

Your choices as players will define the continent of Atollamu and its history going forward! Expect personal narratives, ongoing and varied adventures in the same setting and over-arching “seasons” of the game with their own unique themes and villains to overcome! Think of it almost as the TTRPG equivalent to a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) like World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy 14; a concurrent and ongoing world where your actions and that of other players define the fate of the realm.

Each Expedition game is an opportunity for a party of 4 players to run through an Expeditioner’s Guild quest, on a first-come/first-served basis. Expedition Quests are organized according to character level with appropriate challenges for characters of that level. Any Quest Player with their consent forms on file who has completed our Session Zero training can sign up to play in any of these adventures a ’la carte.

How much does TTRPG Group Therapy cost?

Each game session that a Player signs up for a’ la carte costs $49.99 (EARLY BIRD 2025 PRICE OF $39.99!!) per session. We stand by this price as the best that we can offer for a fantastic gaming experience with knowledgeable and experienced Therapeutic Game Masters!

We do also have a plan to offer Expeditioner’s Guild Memberships, a monthly membership plan that allows for a participating Player to join a certain amount of Expedition games each month at a discounted rate, as well as offering “first dibs” on open adventure slots! If you try your first game and love it, a membership is an amazing way to stay connected to your character and continue to influence the Realm! The higher tier of Membership you belong to, the cheaper each individual game session will cost.

Pricing for Expeditioner’s Guild Memberships will be coming soon, check back this upcoming Spring!

Campaign pricing will be specified when a Campaign is announced, and will vary based on how many players/length of the game is anticipated.

Session costs are typically charged some hours before session start time is to begin if paying weekly. In the event a card is declined or is having an issue, we’ll contact you to ask for an updated card before session starts.

How does this price compare to the price of typical psychotherapy? How does it compare to the average paid Game Master experience?

The price for individual therapy varies from provider to provider, but most are between $150-$200 per hour when paying out of pocket. For many who either don’t have insurance or their insurance does not have very good mental health coverage (if any at all), psychoeducational and skills-building group participation is often a great way to engage in self-care and self-improvement of one’s mental health without paying clinical therapy prices. We believe that pricing our groups the way we do is a way to make mental health accessible and affordable for more people!

I have a severe disorder (self-harming, suicidal ideation, extreme depression or anxiety to the point of not being able to interact at all with others, etc.). Am I a good fit for D&D Group Therapy?

When you sign up for a virtual therapy group, there will be some questions in our sign-up form about your ability to engage with the group in a positive and meaningful way. This includes being able to be largely on time for sessions, to be able to interact with the Game Master and other players via webcam, and to generally avoid crisis at the “table”. If you find yourself experiencing severe mental health issues or symptoms, a higher level of care should be sought. We recommend individual therapy for more severe issues, or hospitalization in case of mental health emergencies.

If in the middle of a session, a player experiences a mental health crisis, the therapist will pause the game and address the crisis in a separate channel, resolving the situation and doing crisis counseling to assist the player. Typically this will result in the player being referred to a higher level of care, as the group is not productive for them at that point (nor are they able to be supportive and productive for the other group members.) If you have questions about the severity of your symptoms, feel free to contact us before signing up for a group to see if you’re a great fit.

Are Therapeutic D&D Groups bound to confidentiality?

This will be explored in the first session, but it bears repeating here as well. With individual counseling, therapists are largely bound by HIPAA to preserve client/clinician confidentiality. In a group, there is an altered expectation: The Therapeutic Game Master(s) is/are still bound to confidentiality concerning group members and what is mentioned at the “table”, but other group members may not abide by HIPAA practices. We recommend players do not enter into a habit of discussing critically sensitive personal details in group sessions, as there is a lessened expectation of privacy when members who are not ethically bound by law to confidentiality are present.

The goal is for you to be able to grow together with your party, but use discretion when disclosing personally identifying information beyond name and general location, time zone, etc. Utilize your best judgment.

I’ve never played D&D or a tabletop Role Playing Game before, will I be behind?

Absolutely not! Our groups are very beginner friendly, and there will be time before, during, and after Session 1 to learn how to play, how to create a character sheet, how to interact with the virtual game board, and how to engage with the mechanics of the game.

The D&D Beyond system we will be using incorporates automatic formulas into the dice rolling that make the game very streamlined, and we emphasize a spirit of patience for other players who are learning the game, as well as an expectation of helpfulness from players who may have more experience and can lead by example. Please let your Game Master know if you’re having any difficulty with the mechanics of the game, we’re more than happy to help!

There are certain topics that trigger extreme negative reactions in me, or that I have an aversion/trauma response to. How can I be safe and play this game with full consent?

We utilize a variety of safety tools that the group itself helps to choose and normalize during the first session. Groups will establish ground rules and safety standards all members agree upon before actual gameplay occurs.

What happens if I’m significantly late to a session, or miss a session?

We ask that if you commit to a Quest session that you make your best efforts to attend. Your party needs you!

Typically if there is a session where an emergency or unforeseen event pops up, there is one grace incident where there’s no charge or fee for missing the session. Life happens, emergencies happen, we understand and can extend grace one time without charge.

More than a single missed session, late joining of session (more than 20 minutes late), continued or repeated disconnections from the call/game without remedy or late cancels/no-shows will result in a full charge with no refund. This resets every calendar year, with a new grace incident extended beginning every new January.

We only have 4-5 maximum spots at the virtual game table per group, this policy is to encourage Players to honor their commitment not just to the game, but to themselves and their fellow group members.

I have an issue with another Player in the group, what should I do?

It depends on the degree of the issue in question. If you have observed another group member engage in activities or communication that dishonors the spirit of respect and cooperation that the game embodies, please alert your group leader and they can attempt to offer resolution.

What if I have other questions?

Please feel free to contact us. The best way to reach us directly is via email, we can absolutely answer your inquiries and do our best to serve you!