09/12/2026
September 12 is National Video Games Day. Video games can be more than entertainment—they can create opportunities for connection, reflection, creativity, and personal growth.
Games give us stories to explore, challenges to work through, and choices that may help us better understand ourselves. Someone might connect with a character trying to find where they belong, recognize their own experiences in a story, or learn something about themselves through the decisions they make while playing.
Games may also offer a lower-pressure way to practice communication, teamwork, problem-solving, frustration tolerance, planning, and asking for help. Even losing a difficult battle and choosing to try again can open conversations about patience, flexibility, and how we respond when something does not go as planned.
Geek Therapy builds on interests people already have, including video games, tabletop games, comics, movies, books, and other parts of geek culture. These familiar worlds can provide language for talking about emotions, relationships, identity, values, and experiences that may otherwise be difficult to explain.
This does not always mean playing a game during therapy. It might mean discussing a favorite character, exploring choices within a story, comparing a real-life challenge to a quest, or using something meaningful to the client as a starting point for a deeper conversation. Taking an interest in the stories that matter to someone can help them feel seen as a whole person.
Thrive Counseling Services is also preparing to offer The Hero’s Path, a psychoeducational and skills-based group tentatively beginning October 6. Grounded in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and inspired by Geek Therapy, the group will use stories, heroic themes, media, and practical activities to help participants understand their thoughts and emotions, explore their values, and move toward the life they want to build. No gaming or geek-culture knowledge is required.
Sometimes the first step toward understanding what someone is carrying begins with asking:
“What have you been playing lately?”
