therapy | Polygamer

Polygamer #125: Game to Grow

Posted on May 18, 2022 by Ken Gagne

Game to Grow is a non-profit that promotes the therapeutic, educational, and community growth benefits of gaming. With structured online sessions of Dungeons & Dragons and Minecraft, as well as their own tabletop game called Critical Core, Game to Grow teaches gamers of all ages and to become more confident, creative, and socially capable.

In this episode, Game to Grow executive director Adam Davis and director of education and training Dr. Elizabeth D. Kilmer join Ken to discuss the history of gaming therapy; what makes a game more conducive to therapeutic benefits; why Game to Grow is for everyone, not just those with diagnoses; what led Game to Grow to create Critical Core; how games such as Dark Souls and Celeste can encourage a growth mindset; and why de-escalation is a valuable skill, even (or especially) among collaborative players.

Stream the audio edition of this interview below or from Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Overcast, Pandora, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or the Internet Archive. Click past the jump for a transcript and links to resources mentioned in this episode.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:04:28 — 74.8MB) | Embed

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Polygamer #93: Dr. Aurit Lazerus on playfulness

Posted on September 18, 2019 by Ken Gagne

Dr. Aurit Lazerus, PsyD, is gamer and board game geek with a private clinical practice in Providence, Rhode Island. She uses playfulness and creativity to help her patients feel more understood, connected, balanced, self-aware, and empowered.

In this podcast, we chat about the mental health benefits of video games; what playfulness can look like, and how to incorporate it into one’s daily life; how it feels when video games are used to procrastinate; and whether video games can be addictive. We also discuss the difficult subject of abusive relationships, how they work, and how to both offer and get help.

Content warnings: suicide and abusive relationships.

Stream the audio edition of this interview below or from Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Overcast, Pandora, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or the Internet Archive. Click past the jump for links to resources mentioned in this episode.

Links mentioned in this episode:

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 58:30 — 27.6MB) | Embed

Polygamer #46: Tatjana Vejnovic of The Koalition

Posted on June 22, 2016 by Ken Gagne

Tatjana Vejnovic is a writer, editor, student, panelist, and former retailer. Her PAX East panel series on why it’s really rad being a woman in the games industry has run for three consecutive years, highlighting the strengths and opportunities available to women in a traditionally male-dominated business. When not on stage, she writes for video game website The Koalition, having previously written for several other websites, including one that provided an inside look at retailer GameStop from her years as a store manager. She’s currently launching her first mobile app development company.

In this episode, Tatjana and I discuss how to become a professional writer in the games industry; why it’s still really awesome to be a female in the games industry; how to seek investors and patent an idea for a mobile app; how to use a position of power and privilege to support marginalized voices; and how social anxiety manifests itself and what relief might be available from various medications and therapies. We also share stories from our respective GameStop careers, which for Tatjana was where she found value in helping others and where Ken felt helpless when working the day after 9/11.

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:30:28 — 42.3MB) | Embed