SAVE AGAINST FEAR
NOV 9-12, 2023
PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCE
NOVEMBER 9-10
WYNDHAM GARDEN HOTEL
2000 LOUCKS ROAD
YORK, PA 17408
THERAPISTS, EDUCATORS, DESIGNERS, AND COMMUNITY LEADERS WILL FIND A VARIETY OF PANELS AND WORKSHOPS AVAILABLE IN TWO DIFFERENT PROGRAMS. ** NBCC APPROVED PANELS WILL BE DENOTED**.
OFFICIAL CONFERENCE SPONSOR
THANK YOU TO VERACODE FOR PROVIDING AUDIO/VISUAL EQUIPMENT AND THE EXPERTISE OF NATE LINDBERG IN ORDER TO RECORD OUR PANELS!
ACEP No. 7047
** NBCC APPROVED PANELS
The Bodhana Group has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7047. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The Bodhana Group is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
Complaint Policy
If a participant or potential participant would like to express a concern about his/her/their experience with The Bodhana Group, they may email thebodhanagroup@gmail.com. Although we do not guarantee a particular outcome, the individual can expect us to consider the complaint, make any necessary decisions and respond within a reasonable amount of time.
THURSDAY
PROGRAM A
9:00am - 10:30am
**Clinical Connections Between Expressive Arts Therapies and Board Games/Roleplaying Games
Speaker: Mary Braasch, LSW
​
Expressive arts therapies foster community building, personal growth, and healing from trauma, by utilizing the inherent therapeutic value of theater, music, writing, dance, visual arts, and many other creative processes. Therapeutic board games and role playing games are under the umbrella of creative arts, which is a slightly different thing. Participants will gain an understanding of the two different therapeutic genres, how board games and role playing games fit into creative arts, and how expressive arts can be combined with board games and role playing games to provide a more therapeutically rich experience. Participants will engage in a short participatory exercise related to expressive arts and tabletop gaming.
11:00am - 12:30pm
**Pitching Your Modality
Speaker: Josh Heath
In this session we will discuss ways to pitch the use of roleplaying games to non-geek audiences and craft 30 second elevator pitches, outlines for proposals, and discuss what to include in a larger pitch meeting.
1:30pm - 3:00pm
**Theoretical Applications of TTRPG for Persons with Sexually problematic Behaviors
Speaker: Jack Berkenstock Jr., MHS
​
This presentation will discuss some of the potential uses of TTRPG with the very challenging demographic of persons who exhibit sexually problematic behaviors. Treatment basics as well as some misconceptions of this population will be explored. Featured discussion will include crossover between the treatment needs of persons with SPB and elements of therapeutically applied role playing games.
3:30pm - 5:00pm
**Homebrewing Mechanics for Therapeutic Purposes
Speakers: Rosa Robertson, Keir Hudson
There are a lot of therapeutic concepts that can be addressed in role-playing games, but have you ever wanted to take a more direct approach with things? In this workshop, participants will learn how to design new mechanics that they can add into their groups in order to encourage progress towards specific goals.
THURSDAY
PROGRAM B
9:00am - 10:30am
**That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Therapist: Fandoms and Identity in your Therapeutic Approach
Speakers: Shelby Somers, LSW; Timothy Grant
An exploration of how the types of media such as anime, games, and TV shows we interact with help shape our perception of ourselves and the world around us. Combining the social work and counseling perspectives, we will examine how this interaction can be used in a therapeutic setting to explore patterns, cognitive biases, and beliefs about oneself. We will also explore how archetypes, narrative storylines, and the themes within these forms of media can help explore an individual's understanding of themself and others.
11:00am - 12:30pm
**Play Therapy: The Language of Gaming
Speaker: Ashley Gavoni, Phyl Campbell
Panel/Workshop on using gaming in a therapeutic practice/capacity, game selection considerations, basics of play therapy.
1:30pm - 3:00pm
**Staying Safe When Exploring the Unknown: An exploration of Trauma and Safety Tools in TTRPGS
Speakers: Shelby Somers, LSW; Timothy Grant, Tinelle Evans Reno, LPCC
For this panel we will discuss trauma-informed roleplaying when utilizing TTRPGs. We will discuss safety tools along with effective strategies for implementing representation and inclusion at the table.
3:30pm - 5:00pm
**Rolling Roles: The Character We Play and the Roles We Display
Speaker: Richard Stubbs, LPC, MT-BC, CATP
Dive deep into the multi-layered world of tabletop gaming in therapy. In this presentation, we'll unravel the intriguing interplay between the vibrant characters players embody and the often unnoticed roles they adopt within group dynamics. From the valiant hero to the quiet observer, explore how these roles can both aid and challenge therapeutic progress. Grab your dice and let's roll for insight!
FRIDAY
PROGRAM A
9:00am - 10:30am
**How to Play With Challenging Board Gamers
Speaker: Mary Braasch, LSW
This is for anyone who has played board games publicly, with strangers, or even people you know, who are just not good sports. Played with someone who throws pieces? Someone who gets upset when they aren't winning? Debates rules endlessly instead of actually playing the game? Social skills are one of the elements that board games can teach us, but what if your skills fail in the social realm, and your just not sure how to quiet that one player who keeps telling you were to go and taking your turn for you? Also, if you think you might be one of these "challenging" players, you are welcome as well (we wont judge you!)
11:00am - 12:30pm
Games for Good: Intentional Positivity through Design
Speakers: Ami Baio, Eric Slauson, Danielle Reynolds
This informative discussion panel will introduce you to three game designers talking about their board game designs and how they impact positivity within their design. They will share titles of their games as well as some of the design ethics that ed to these games and somer of the impacts they have seen.
1:30pm - 3:00pm
**Roll an Insight Check: The multiple benefits of Table Top Gaming in a small, rural school.
Speakers: Chris Romanchuk, Pete Reynolds
Table Top gaming is hot right now among adolescents, built partly on the explosion of TTRPGs in Popular Culture and partly on innovative new game systems and formats. However, schools have had difficulty tapping into that popularity. In this panel discussion, Chris Romanchock, educator; Pete Reynolds, Administrator and several students will discuss the panoply of benefits that our school has seen from establishing a safe, student friendly games club. Additionally, Chris will share the rules for D&D 5e he adapted to allow five, simultaneous tables to play in the same universe.
3:30pm - 5:00pm
Role vs Roll, 10’ Pit Traps for RPGs
Speaker: Barak Blackburn
In this panel/discussion, we will cover the concept of roleplay vs roll-play, and also tips, tricks, ideas, and thoughts about common RPG elements including NPCs, mysteries, intelligence checks, and charisma checks. Think of this as a masterclass brainstorming session for gamemasters and players alike. This will be system agnostic, and will reference multiple systems. Will any of this change the way you play or run games? Perhaps. Might it change how you think about games? We hope so.
FRIDAY
PROGRAM B
9:00am - 10:30am
**Take That Games and What You Get Back
Speakers: Curt Covert, Jack Berkenstock Jr., MHS
This informative discussion panel talks about the style of game known as “Take That” games and how this seemingly competitive style can have great possibilities for skill benefit and transfer via shared experience, social contracts, and innovative engagement Examples of titles showcasing this concept will be discussed.
11:00am - 12:30pm
**Intentional Character Creation
Speakers: Austin Knight, Calvin Johns
Join us as we discuss the process and benefits of making characters within role playing games that offer a unique ability to work towards developing identity and intentionality towards clinical and capacity building goals. Examples of how this works will be provided.
1:30pm - 3:00pm
**Branch Riders: Eight Realms, One Path to Wellness
Speakers: Jack Berkenstock Jr., MHS; Dixie Cochran, Rich Thomas, Doug Hagler
Join this informative panel as we discuss The Bodhana Group’s upcoming role playing game Branch Riders, to be published by Onyx Path Publishing. This game uniquely provides pathways to clinical goals, capacity building and therapeutic intentionality, wrapped up in a package designed foremost of fun and great evocative storytelling. Learn about the simple to learn mechanics and how we built in the therapy.
3:30pm - 5:00pm
**Research Panel - Bodhana
Speakers: Jack Berkenstock Jr., MHS; Colleen Madrigale, LCSW; James Kirk
Members of the Bodhana Group will discuss their published research project investigating the efficacy of role playing games for adults with social anxiety. This study is one of the only of its kin to use standardized measures and offers a quantitative as well as qualitative analysis of this topic. Attendees will get a copy of the published article. The method, purpose, results and implications will be explored.