Therapeutic Gaming Cornwall

Therapeutic Gaming Cornwall — How We Use Play to Support Mental Health

Therapeutic gaming in Cornwall is changing how schools, families, and mental health professionals think about support for young people. At Roll The Dice Cornwall, we use structured tabletop gaming and collaborative roleplay as a genuine, research-backed intervention for social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) — not as a gimmick, but as a purposeful tool that meets young people where they are.
We've seen it work time and again: a child who struggles to speak in class becomes a fearless adventurer at the table. A young person who finds social situations overwhelming discovers that navigating a dungeon with their peers is surprisingly great practice for navigating the real world. That's the quiet power of therapeutic gaming.

What Is Therapeutic Gaming?

Therapeutic gaming uses the structure, storytelling, and social dynamics of tabletop roleplaying games to support participants in developing real-world emotional and social skills. Rather than sitting across a desk and talking about feelings, participants engage in imaginative, collaborative stories — and in doing so, they build confidence, practise empathy, learn to manage frustration, read social cues, and work as part of a team.
Our approach is grounded in research. We work from principles developed by organisations like Game to Grow, whose Critical Core programme uses D&D specifically as a social skills intervention. The outcomes are measurable, and we measure them — but we'll come to that.

Our School Gaming Programme Cornwall

We've worked with 19 schools across Cornwall during the 2025–2026 academic year, and we're expanding. Our therapeutic gaming sessions for schools are designed to slot into existing pastoral care frameworks, and we're flexible enough to work with your timetable and your young people's needs.

Here's how a typical session works:

Each session runs for one hour. Groups are small — between four and six participants — so every young person gets meaningful engagement and no one falls through the cracks. Sessions are led by a practitioner who guides the group through an interactive roleplaying story, but the story isn't fixed. It's shaped in real time around the group's emotional and social needs, building in scenarios that gently surface and practise the skills participants are working on.
We can travel to schools up to around an hour and a half away, which means we're genuinely accessible to schools across West and Central Cornwall. If you're further afield, get in touch — if we're working with multiple schools in your area, we'll find a way to make it work.

Gaming for SEMH — What Does the Evidence Say?

Gaming for SEMH isn't just something we believe in because we love gaming (though we do). It's supported by an emerging evidence base. Collaborative roleplay builds:
  • Communication skills — articulating thoughts, listening actively, negotiating outcomes
  • Emotional regulation — practising responses to in-game frustration, disappointment, and surprise in a low-stakes environment
  • Empathy and perspective-taking — playing characters with different backgrounds and motivations
  • Confidence and self-efficacy — experiencing success and contribution within a group
  • Social connection — building genuine bonds with peers through shared story

 

We measure the impact of every session using our own check-in and check-out tool. Participants fill in a short questionnaire at the start and end of each session, and we track shifts in mood, engagement, and how they feel about themselves and their group. At the end of a block of sessions, participants complete a more detailed questionnaire. This gives us — and you — real data on what's actually changing.

Gaming for Mental Health Cornwall — Who This Is For

Our therapeutic gaming programme is relevant for:

  • Schools and SENCOs looking for a fresh, engaging approach to pastoral support
  • Parents whose children are experiencing anxiety, social difficulties, or emotional dysregulation
  • Social workers and SEMH professionals seeking referral options with a genuine evidence base
  • Youth workers and community organisations supporting young people who are disengaged from traditional provision

You don't need to have tried anything like this before. We're happy to talk through whether our programme is right for your young people, explain how it fits alongside other interventions, and discuss what outcomes you might realistically expect.

Get in Touch

If you're a school, a parent, or a professional looking into therapeutic gaming in Cornwall, we'd love to hear from you. We're a small, volunteer-run team, but we respond to every enquiry personally.

Email us:  rollthedicecornwall@gmail.com 

Visit us: 8 Coinagehall Street, Helston, Cornwall, TR13 8EB