The Mental Health Benefits of Dungeons & Dragons in the Library

I was very fortunate to speak at the New Jersey Association of School Librarians on the mental health benefits of Dungeons & Dragons.

I need to clarify that I am not a doctor or specialist in mental health, what I spoke about are the things I have observed first hand and what I've read from other, qualified sources which will be provided at the end of this post.

I've run Dungeons and Dragons in our school library for over two years and I've loved every second of it. Not only do I feel it's been beneficial for the students, it certainly has for me. Running the game twice a week is something I look forward to very much, not one session goes by that doesn't make me gut-laugh. It has been cathartic for me in many ways and I'm very lucky to have discovered it. 

Here are the ways I feel Dungeons and Dragons benefits students, socially and mentally.

Improved Confidence

In my opinion some of the students who have been playing for over two years now have grown in confidence tenfold. I can see the difference. Is Dungeons and Dragons the sole contributor to this? Most definitely not, however the game has without doubt created an outlet for the students to become another person, creature, whatever they want, and express their ideas, emotions and anxieties through that character. 

Teamwork

D&D is a collaborative game. Your goal is to survive whatever the Dungeon Master is throwing at you, but it's impossible to do it alone. The game forces players to think selflessly, to put the needs of others in front of theirs and to think strategically. Doing otherwise can be disastrous. In addition, the game creates a very unique shared experience that I hope will carry with them well beyond the walls of the library. It's also about friendships. In my opinion these students have developed friendships through the game that have persevered. The game has created a social circle that is unique to them and allows for expressive freedom. 

Creative Thinking

This relates to the point above, the game requires creativity on everyone's part. Everyone must be on board with what is going on otherwise the entire thing crumbles. What I mean is, the Dungeon Master develops a world, the players buy into that world and everyone immerses themselves, no one is "too cool for school" in D&D. What then happens is that the creativity of the students goes off the charts in my opinion. They write character histories, they develop plans to thwart the bad guys or to avoid deadly traps. They bounce ideas off of each other. What I see is a mini D&D debate club that happens almost every session. It also develops their problem solving skills, it's an extremely fun and interesting event to watch.

An Important Commitment

I run D&D twice weekly at lunch in the library. Lunch is a tricky time for many students because there are a lot of things going on, they are being pulled in a million different directions and can take part in a multitude of clubs and activities. I started out with six students pre-pandemic, we continued to play over MS Teams daily during the pandemic. Upon returning to in-person education I once again resumed the twice weekly sessions. These students have never missed a session. Religiously they come, and if by chance they are home isolating and not feeling symptoms, they join via Teams and continue to play. I've been working with teens in libraries for nearly fifteen years and I've never had a lunch time club with such a dedicated group. This means a lot to me in terms of how important the game is to them and what it means for their wellbeing that they never miss a single session. 

These are the benefits I can see. It's hard to put on paper how it makes you feel or the shared experience they have. 

A quote from one of our students:

"I love D&D as it offers escape and the opportunity to be myself. There is no judgement, characters can be weird and wacky and nobody blinks an eye! The group in the Library is definitely a safe space for me." 

Sources: https://screenrant.com/dungeons-dragons-mental-health-benefits-good-why-how/

https://www.katielear.com/child-therapy-blog/2020/5/20/dungeons-and-dragons-as-therapy-mental-health#:~:text=Some%20of%20the%20possible%20mental,yourself%20and%20your%20needs%20assertively