Title: How to Utilize Video Games and VR in Therapy: Harnessing the Intersection of Gaming Culture and LGBTQIA+ Communities
Speaker and Degree: Dan Kelly, LCSW
Description: In 2023, the Electronic Software Association (ESA) found there were over 212 million people playing video games, and GLAAD uncovered that approximately 1 in 5 players identify as LGBTQ. The gaming industry is increasingly aware of those in the LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities as active players. Yet the gaming industry often inadequately represents, and at times, inadvertently fosters hostility towards these populations. In this digital age, it is paramount that clinicians better understand the nuances and intersections between gamer culture, its subdivisions, and the individuals and families they work with in therapy.
Video games and VR inherently offer a variety of avenues for skills development and exploration of the self; from client engagement to narratives, internal worlds to external worlds, individual to family functioning, micro to macro systems. Through the practice of gamification and utilizing video games and virtual reality in therapy sessions, we have an opportunity for further understanding and working with our clients. Dan Kelley is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker working in private practice in Pleasant Grove, UT.
Learning Objectives: Based on this presentation I…
1… will gain a better understanding of gaming culture and its intersection with the LGBTQIA+ communities.
2… will learn methods and techniques for gathering relevant client information using video games and VR as therapeutic tools of engagement.
3… will obtain knowledge, tools, and ideas for independently implementing evidence-based interventions with video games and VR.
CEU’s have been applied for all in‐service programs through the Utah Psychological Association. CEU’s are free for Guild members & $5 for non‐members, per meeting. CEUs for Plan-B events have been applied for via NASW
AASECT hours: Exciting news for American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) providers! The Guild is collaborating with our friends at The Healing Group Institute (THGI) to issue AASECT continuing education hours for the Guild's in-services. Look for the link to THGI's website, to apply for AASECT hours, every month, at the bottom of the emails titled: “Zoom Link.” These are the emails sent out before each in-service, that contains the Zoom link to our in-services, and the link to our CEU evaluation form. If you want both professional UPA-approved CEs and AASECT CEs you will need to fill out both evaluations. THGI is offering attendees 1.5 AASECT CEs for each of our 1.5 hours in-services for a fee of $35. You will be given the opportunity to apply when you attend the event.
