This year, myself and my colleague Alex Brocksom were honoured to be invited to present our poster, "Roll for Motivation! Using Dungeons and Dragons as a trauma-informed therapeutic intervention in CAMHS," at the NAPICU conference in Glasgow on September 14–16.  The conference provided a fantastic platform to share how innovatively occupational therapy promotes participation, function, and wellbeing through meaningful occupation in this case, Tabletop Role-Playing Games (TTRPGs) on our respective CAMHS wards at Cygnet Hospital Sheffield.

Our work highlights why Dungeons & Dragons is uniquely suited as a flexible, effective tool for addressing diverse mental health concerns. As supported by recent literature, TTRPGs encourage emotional exploration, personal development, and improved social understanding through the gamification of social interactions.

The poster detailed a pilot project involving 3 young people with diagnoses of C-PTSD/Psychosis, who participated in weekly 1:1 sessions (with a minimum of 3 sessions facilitated). Through D&D, these sessions engaged clients in multiple therapeutic domains:

•            Collaborative storytelling & social interaction

•            Executive function (planning and decision-making)

•            Emotional regulation in a safe context

•            Communication & perspective-taking

•            Fine motor skills via dice rolling and miniatures

Outcomes were assessed using improvements in the Communication and Interaction section of the MOHOST (Model of Human Occupation Screening Tool). The data revealed that within just 3 sessions, all young people showed marked improvements in communication and interaction skills -particularly in establishing appropriate relationships, sustaining engagement, and being aware of others' needs.

The qualitative feedback featured on the poster truly brought the clinical impact to life. One young person shared: "I enjoy doing D&D because you can be whoever or whatever you want to be, and it gets me out of reality for a while. It's also fun because you never know what to expect and it's exciting deciding what to do". Furthermore, a clinical psychologist noted tangible behavioural progress: "YP 2's frustration tolerance has improved and they have been able to wait their turn in a more productive way. YP 2 has also learned to more positively manage consequences".

Sharing these findings at NAPICU Glasgow sparked vital conversations among fellow mental health professionals - including senior members of the CQC, NAPICU, and NHS England, about innovative, trauma-informed interventions in our CAMHS. We left inspired by the enthusiastic response and eager to continue exploring how creative, occupation-focused tools can transform clinical practice .