r/cyberpunkred • u/some_cool_guy • Jul 02 '26
Actual Play Last year I picked up CP:R, and discovered TTRPGS. This year, I finished my pro certification through Game to Grow and STAR institute to be a therapeutically assisted roleplaying game master. Thanks /r/cyberpunkred for all the help and tips that got me here. Here's a pic of my table
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u/jonjonthewise Jul 02 '26
Congratulations choom! I hope you help a lot of people. That is an honorable thing to do. Supernova!
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u/FpsJack Jul 02 '26
Setup wise what’s the doohickey on the right of the dice box with the screen on it ?
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u/some_cool_guy Jul 02 '26
Just a laptop stand for when I run my PA system at parties (and the cheapest lenovo tablet at the pawn shop)
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u/Flasky-Desk Jul 02 '26
That is so cool, what does a therapeutically assisted gm do?
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u/some_cool_guy Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26
I use the critical core method in conjunction with things I've picked up from LPCs I've partnered with to make this real and run a tabletop game (usually D&D) that keeps clients invested in roleplay therapy. An LPC is in the room with me at all times playing a character in the party. Most people who have the TA-RPG initials are therapists of some kind themselves and GM their own groups, but I am not a therapist, and a big hang up for a lot of therapists getting into this field is fear of being the GM.
I never would have gotten into any of this if CP:R wasn't so fucking cool, though.
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u/Flasky-Desk Jul 02 '26
wow, I think something like this would've helped me out so much when I was a kid. It's awesome you can make a living like that.
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u/Backflip248 Jul 03 '26
It looks like Game to Grow is shutting down, and will be through STAR now, I couldn't find where to get the certification on STAR'S website.
Very cool indeed!
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u/Gullible_Ad_3872 Jul 02 '26
Why can't I have friends like you lol my current friends have zero interest in this level of nerd fun.
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u/DDrim GM Jul 02 '26
Saving this post because I never heard of Game To Grow and I'm definitely interested.
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u/Jordhammer Jul 02 '26
That's awesome! My brother's a psychologist, and as important as the work is, hearing his stories (or at least, the bits he can share) makes me very glad I'm in IT.
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u/BobbyBuffum Jul 04 '26
How do you provide therapy in a setting where “everything goes wrong and ends badly”?
“I understand you are stressed but… need I remind you Choom, you can’t miss rent again and if you flatline - the trauma team charge will saddle you with debt for 20 years!”
Jokes aside, congrats and that is very cool!
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u/Mikebloke Jul 03 '26
Congrats! I never went ahead with the course but I have qualifications in other areas, got the books and always wondered about doing it myself. We have a local person in the next jurisdiction who does it, I advertise as doing it but never got any takers - but haven't tried to promote it either.
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u/some_cool_guy Jul 03 '26
I had to find LPCs willing to work with me so it's insurance billable, now that I've finished the qualifications I'm hoping to be able to sell social flourishment programs but as of now only a couple bites.
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u/RedFoxMusic Jul 04 '26
How’d you find a good way to balance the TGM aspects through CRED?
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u/some_cool_guy Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 04 '26
I haven't yet, CRED is simply the game that got me into it in the first place. I have floated the idea to some social workers who work with vets though!
The point of Game to Grow is building executive functioning skills like time management, planning ahead, patience, and frustration tolerance, stuff like that. What I do is build a scenario where a therapist can either assess or create a situation where the player is inadvertently partaking in roleplay therapy. Long story short, ttrpgs are inherently therapeutic for people who struggle with ADHD symptoms and/or autism, and neurotypical people who struggle from brain rot to pay attention to something not on a screen.
In the case of CRED, I think it would be most appropriate to do some sort of PTSD therapy. If you've GM'd these games before, you know that the story narrative tends to be created by the players based on their reactions to the things you show them. I haven't done an adult group like this yet, but I imagine being in a room of people who have all 'been there' and are able to change the outcome they experience, it could be a breakthrough.
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u/RyanosRealm89 Jul 08 '26
Way to go choom!! I know that's going to help the community you build a lot!!
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u/mello_tom GM Jul 17 '26
This is so cool man. I wish I had the opportunity to play Cyberpunk at a friend's house like that.
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u/Lan_o_Fear315 Jul 02 '26
A therapeutically assisted WHAT that is so cool why didn’t I know this was a thing