Master of Stories: Dungeons & Dragons in Therapeutic Space, An Interview with John-Paul Blix, M.A., tLMFT

John-Paul Blix (he/him) holds a Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy. He also has completed post-baccalaureate work in Applied Behavioral Analysis. He is a current doctoral student in Marriage and Family Therapy and a School-Based Therapist with Tanager Place practicing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Learn more about John-Paul here:

• Tanager Place
• Want to know more about Role 4 Inspiration and the work J-P is involved in? You can email him at jblix@tanagerplace.org.

Additional Reading and Resources

• Read John-Paul’s 2020 Blog on “Rolling for Insight: A Therapeutic D&D Program”
• Role 4 Inspiration Facebook Page: *Note: Donations of games and related items can be made on this page.
• Role 4 Inspiration Instagram Page
• Bean, A., Daniel, E., & Hays, S. (2020). Integrating Geek Culture into Therapeutic Practice: The Clinician's Guide to Geek Therapy. Leyline Publishing: Fort Worth.
• Chaplan-Hoang, A. (2021). Dungeons, Dragons, and Drama Therapy: A Digital Approach for Teenagers on the Autism Spectrum.
• Crawford, J., Wyatt, J., Schwalb, R. J., & Cordell, B. R. (2015). Player's Handbook. Wizards of the Coast, LLC.
• Eisenman, P., & Bernstein, A. Bridging the Isolation: Online Dungeons and Dragons as Group Therapy during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
• Epston, D. (1992). Experience, contradiction, narrative & imagination: selected papers of David Epston & Michael White, 1989-1991. Adelaide: Dulwich Centre Publications.
• Gottsch, R. (2016). D&D Character Creator.
• Hughes, J. (1988). Therapy is Fantasy: Roleplaying, healing and the construction of symbolic order. In Anthropology IV Honours, Medical Anthropology Seminar, Dept. of Prehistory & Anthropology, Australian National University.
• Pinkston, R. (2019). Cooperative Acceptance and Tabletop Representation: Gender and Sexuality in the Fantasy Tabletop Role-Playing Game Dungeons and Dragons (Doctoral Dissertation, Arkansas State University).
• Sidhu, P., & Carter, M. (2020). The Critical Role of Media Representations, Reduced Stigma and Increased Access in D&D’s Resurgence. Proceedings of Digital Games Research Association Australia 2020.
• Sidhu, P., Carter, M., & Curwood, J. S. (2021). Unlearning in games: Deconstructing failure in Dungeons & Dragons. Proceedings of DIGRA Australia 2021, 1-4.
• Varma, R. (2007). Women in computing: The role of geek culture. Science as culture, 16(4), 359-376.
• Walden, C. R. (2015). " A Living and Breathing World...": Examining participatory practices within Dungeons & Dragons (Doctoral dissertation, Auckland University of Technology).
• White, W. J., Arjoranta, J., Hitchens, M., Peterson, J., Torner, E., & Walton, J. (2018). Tabletop role-playing games. Role-Playing Game Studies: Transmedia Foundations, 63-86.
• Wright, J. C., Weissglass, D. E., & Casey, V. (2020). Imaginative Role-Playing as a Medium for Moral Development: Dungeons & Dragons Provides Moral Training. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 60(1), 99-129.